


The Last Apprentice

by SpiderMansUnfriendlyNeighbor



Series: On Second Thought [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin Skywalker Whump, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Human Lightning Rod Anakin Skywalker, Hurt Anakin Skywalker, Hurt/Comfort, Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, Manipulative Sheev Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker are Brothers, Tired Dad Anakin Skywalker, Torture, Whump, let's make that a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24363919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiderMansUnfriendlyNeighbor/pseuds/SpiderMansUnfriendlyNeighbor
Summary: Anakin Skywalker defeated Sheev Palpatine seven years ago and put him in prison for life. But Palpatine has escaped. And he's determined to make Anakin his apprentice...through any means possible.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Lux Bonteri/Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Siri Tachi, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: On Second Thought [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744039
Comments: 133
Kudos: 197





	1. Guilty As Charged

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in my AU Universe where instead of turning to the Dark Side, Anakin cut off Palpatine's hands, and then soon after, Padme gave birth and Anakin had no reason to turn to the Dark Side. Read my fic Attachments if you want to know more about what happened after. There were a lot of reforms in the Jedi and the government, but I'm not going to outline them because that would take too long, so keep your eyes open, because I'll be dropping hints about what changed. Anakin got lots of therapy after the twins were born, so he's doing a lot better emotionally speaking.

Anakin gripped the arms of his chair with such force that he was surprised he didn’t snap the wood. What was taking the jury so long? It had been hours since they had withdrawn. Was it just because of the overwhelming multitude of crimes Palpatine had been charged with?

He locked his gaze on the withered old man. At the beginning of the trial, he had acted triumphant. His attitude had changed after Anakin’s twins were born with no complications and he began to testify against him. Anakin wasn’t naïve enough to believe that Palpatine would be here, with a significant chance of being charged, if he hadn’t testified to so many of his crimes and manipulations. Five’s neglected report of inhibitor chips, the confession of being a Sith Lord, the many, many things Palpatine had recommended that went south for some reason or another, his manipulation of Anakin, the hitherto undiscovered Sith compulsions that had driven him mad believing Padmé was about to die… For what he had done to Anakin alone he deserved to be put away for life. Then there was the testimony of Nute Gunray and Darth Maul, and the Nabooians that charged Palpatine with the murder of his own family.

“What’s taking them so long?” Anakin said through gritted teeth.

Padmé put a hand on his mechanical arm. “It’s alright, Anakin. They have a lot of evidence to consider and a lot of different crimes to deliberate on.”

Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder from his other side. “Be patient, Anakin. We’ve waited this long. We can wait a few hours more.”

Anakin nodded stiffly.

The door opened. Anakin rose to his feet with the crowd as the jury walked through. _Come on, the verdict has to be guilty…_

He sat back down and gripped the arms again. The spokesman for the jury rose. Anakin drew a deep breath and pulled strength from the Force.

“The jury finds the accused, one Sheev Palpatine, guilty on two thousand eight hundred and forty three of two thousand eight hundred and forty five counts of first-degree murder, thirty-seven of forty-two counts of second-degree murder, twelve counts of manslaughter, all but three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, all counts of attempted mass murder, all but one count of torture, all counts of kidnapping, all counts of child abuse, all counts of reckless endangerment, all counts of medical practice without a license, all counts of medical experimentation without a license, all counts of medical experimentation on sentients without their consent, all counts of bribery, eighty-seven of ninety-three counts of accessory after the fact, and the enslavement of 1.2 million sentient beings. On all other counts we declare Sheev Palpatine not guilty.”

Anakin relaxed. He wasn’t guilty on all counts, but he was guilty on enough counts to be put away for the rest of his natural life. He was still hoping for the death penalty, but Padmé had warned him that was very unlikely, seeing as Palpatine was already a fairly old man. He took Padmé’s hand and rested his head on hers, not paying attention to his surroundings until the judge gave the sentence.

“This court has decided to have mercy on you, such as it may be. For the multiple crimes which you have been convicted, this court now sentences you to six hundred and forty-three years in prison without the possibility of parole.”

Anakin relaxed. No death sentence, but Palpatine would be in jail when his great-grandchildren had great-grandchildren, if he could live that long, which he couldn’t.

Palpatine’s guards led him out of the courtroom. His gaze locked on Anakin in a sort of predatory glare. Anakin shook it off. Palpatine couldn’t hurt him anymore.

_Several years later…_

Anakin picked up the diaper bag and slung it over his shoulder. They really needed to start working on potty-training Jinn. He could walk now, after all. He was one, which was plenty old enough. “Leia, come on! We’re going to be late!” He checked his chrono. If they didn’t leave right now, he’d be late for the first class he had to teach, which would push all of his classes back and make him late for the Council meeting this afternoon, unless he took time out of his lunch.

“I haven’t finished my hair yet!” his seven-year-old daughter called back from her bedroom.

“Have Luke finish it in the speeder,” Anakin said.

“What?” Luke exclaimed from where he was already waiting by his side. “Why me?”

Padmé rushed through the apartment, cup of caf in hand, Threepio hurrying beside her. She stopped by Anakin for a kiss, bent down to kiss Luke and Ben on the cheek, said “Be good,” then ran out.

“Vote well!” Anakin called after her.

She raised her hand in acknowledgement.

Anakin sighed, but didn’t protest. He knew she was late for a vote. Getting five children out of the house every morning was a nightmare. “Leia! Come here! I’m not going to say it again.”

Leia ran out of her bedroom, half of her hair braided and half not. “I’m not ready!”

Anakin sighed. He picked up Jinn with one arm and his surprisingly cooperative three-year-old Shmi with the other. She kicked him in the side and shouted, “Put me down!”

_I spoke too soon_. “I don’t care, Leia, get in the speeder. Jedi have to learn to get ready on the run. Do you have your holobooks?”

Leia stopped, bolted back into her room, and emerged with a backpack. “Now I do.”

“Put me down!” Shmi shrieked.

Jinn shrieked wordlessly along with her.

Anakin hauled the children to the speeder and strapped them into their child seats. Luke jumped into the passenger seat and swiftly buckled himself in.

“No, Luke, it’s my turn!” Leia whined.

“You promised you’d let me ride there!” Ben pouted and turned to Anakin in protest.

“I got here first!” Luke protested.

Anakin sighed. “Leia, Obi-Wan, get in the back now.”

The two brunettes sighed and climbed into the back.

“It’s not fair!” Leia protested.

[The red-headed younglings are drooling on me,] Artoo beeped from the back.

Anakin jumped into the pilot’s seat and restrained himself from another sigh. He glanced back. Shmi and Jinn were indeed drooling on Artoo. “I’m sorry, Artoo, but you’re just going to have to put up with it.” He started the speeder and merged into Coruscant traffic. He was going to be patient and calm. _Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. That’s my life now. Chaos, yet harmony._

As he headed towards the Jedi Temple, he glanced back. Leia was braiding the rest of her hair, Jinn was sucking on his toes and babbling the few words he knew, Shmi was shrieking for some unknown reason, Ben was trying to do katas in his seat, and Luke was playing the new hologame his grandfather had sent him. _Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force._ He pushed the accelerator as fast as he dared with the kids inside and began weaving throughout traffic. This was going to be a long day.

Anakin finished the last bites of his lunch on the way to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He had intended to take a short nap during his lunch break but had gotten drawn into a long conversation with Obi-Wan, Siri, and Mace about their ongoing success in destroying slavery in Outer-Rim territories. _When do we focus on my Outer Rim territory?_ Tatooine had suffered for far too long. Yet he knew in the Council meeting this afternoon, he’d probably be assigned to clean up the last of the Zygerrian mess.

His moving meditation class was already mostly gathered. Once the few stragglers strode up, he started them on an exercise they could do on their own for an hour. As the students fell one by one into a moving meditation, he smiled. They’d all been working so hard, and they had finally managed to figure out Anakin’s favored form of meditation. At last, the last student managed to reach a shallow form of moving meditation, and Anakin sank back onto the grass, satisfied. He buried himself in his favorite form of regular meditation—the thirty-minute nap.

_Wake up… wake up, Ani!_

Anakin sat up swiftly. Screams rose up through the Room of a Thousand Fountains. A few of his moving meditation class were still standing in front of him, but they scattered. Blaster bolts and the hum of lightsabers filled the air instead of the sound of running water. A dark presence crept into his mind.

He jumped to his feet and drew his lightsaber. Palpatine stalked towards him, dark robes flaring, brandishing his red lightsaber in his hands.

His hands. How had he gotten prosthetic hands? Anakin distinctly remembered cutting off his hands in his office seven years ago.

“My boy, it doesn’t have to be this way,” Palpatine purred.

Anakin settled into a ready stance. “You have nothing to offer me that I want.”

_“Oh, but I do,”_ Palpatine purred in his mind.

Anakin charged at him. As their lightsabers met, a blaster went off behind him. His body went numb. His lightsaber slipped from his fingers and he fell to his knees.

_Stunned. It was all a farce…_

Palpatine’s lightsaber deactivated. He caught Anakin as he went completely limp. “I’m afraid this would have been much easier if you had taken my offer the first time.”

Anakin’s eyes slid closed. He reached out into the Force weakly as he passed out. _Obi-Wan…help…_


	2. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan and Padme deal with the painful fallout of the attack.

Obi-Wan surveyed the destruction in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, his heart in his mouth. A small force of droids and bounty hunters had snuck into the Temple and attacked. The fight had been brief, and they had withdrawn soon after they attacked, but in their wake had been left destruction. Five Padawans had been injured, one Initiate killed. He ached for whichever Master would have to contact the Initiate’s parents and tell them their child would never come home again.

Even worse, however, was the stain the Dark Side had left on the peaceful room.

Palpatine.

Anakin’s last cry echoed in Obi-Wan’s mind. Obi-Wan had been trying to teach some of the young Initiates, including Anakin’s own twins, Galactic History, when the attack broke out. He had still been heading towards the Room of a Thousand Fountains when Anakin spoke into his mind.

And then nothing. He’d run around the Temple frantically trying to find his brother, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

Ahsoka ran up to him, her lightsabers drawn but not lighted. “No sign of him?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “Nothing. You?”

“Not a thing. Master, you don’t think…” Ahsoka trailed off.

“He’s alive, young one,” Obi-Wan said firmly. He knew that, and Ahsoka should too, though her bond with Anakin had never been as strong ever since she’d left the Order. Anakin and Ahsoka had made great strides after the Reform and all the Jedi who’d left for one reason or another had been invited back to help make changes, but she still couldn’t quite match what they’d had before, and now that she was knighted and there was no need for it, their bond had weakened further.

“What do we do now?” Ahsoka asked.

Obi-Wan sighed. “We will try to find him.”

“Uncle Obi-Wan!” Luke cried.

Obi-Wan turned. The twins were running up to him. Both were in tears. He knelt down and opened his arms so they could crash into them.

The twins crashed into him. Obi-Wan enveloped them in a hug. Leia pulled back soon after and wiped her tears, but Luke burst into more sobs.

“I can’t find Daddy!” he cried.

“I can’t feel him,” Leia said.

“He’s not in the Force at all. Where is he?”

“Is he all right?”

“What happened to him?”

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. “I don’t know where he is, young ones. He was knocked out and taken, but we’re going to find him.”

“That’s impossible!” Leia said, heated. “No one can beat Daddy. He’s the best Jedi in the whole universe!”

“Is he gonna die?” Luke’s lip wobbled. He looked as if his entire world was ending.

To tell the truth, Obi-Wan’s world was ending, too. “Of course not. Your daddy’s going to be just fine. He’s just going to be a little upset that we have to rescue him, that’s all.”

“But he couldn’t have been beaten!” Leia insisted, convinced that her daddy was invincible. “He beat Palpatine, and he was a Sith Lord!”

Obi-Wan glanced helplessly back at Ahsoka. He didn’t want to be the one to break the news to them. They would freak out even more, and Obi-Wan wouldn’t be able to contain his own panic. How had Anakin kept it together after Jabiim? “Why don’t we go to the creche and make sure your siblings are all right?”

The twins quieted and let Obi-Wan take their hands and lead them out of the primary battle zone. Luke was still crying silently.

Obi-Wan’s own heart pounded as he entered the creche, which, now that the Jedi were allowed attachments, was abused by the Jedi as a handy babysitter. The baby Skywalkers were easy to spot. Both were inconsolable, rejecting the attempts of the creche master to calm them. Shmi was clinging to the leg of Siri, who stood comforting their blonde almost-two-year-old Satine.

He bent and scooped up Jinn. The boy latched onto his tunic and sobbed into his shoulder. He bent and kissed his wife, then placed his hand over their unborn son. “Are you all right?”

Siri nodded. “Anakin?”

Obi-Wan just shook his head. He couldn’t voice what had happened to him again.

Ahsoka pried Shmi away from her aunt’s leg and held her close. “Who’s going to call Padmé?”

The last thing Obi-Wan wanted to face was a conversation that was sure to be incredibly painful. He didn’t want to be confronted on his utter failure to save his little brother. But someone had to tell her, and it was best if it came from him. “I will.”

“I…need to call Lux,” Ahsoka said.

Obi-Wan nodded.

“I can take Jinn,” Luke offered.

Obi-Wan bent down and carefully placed the sobbing child in Luke’s arms. Luke was a bit unbalanced but managed to keep ahold of his brother. He quickly soothed him, murmuring softly.

Obi-Wan welcomed the warmth in his heart. He stepped away to find a quiet place to call Padmé.

Padmé rubbed her forehead. How many reforms was the Senate going to enact? How many changes would they make to the newly created executive branch of government before they actually let it form? She did not envy Bail’s position as chancellor.

Her comlink beeped. She tore her gaze away from the current speaker, Senator Grebleips of the Perinn Sector, and stepped away into the relatively empty Senate Hall. She activated her comlink. “Hello?”

Obi-Wan appeared on the comlink. “Senator, I’m afraid I have bad news.”

Padmé took a deep breath. Had one of her children fallen sick or been injured in lightsaber practice? Had Anakin been injured in lightsaber practice or blown something up fixing a ship? Had he been called off on an emergency mission and been unable to say goodbye to her in time? “What is it, Obi-Wan?”

“There was an attack on the Temple. I have laid eyes on four of your children and they are perfectly safe. I have not seen Ben in person, but Master Yoda reported him safe along with the rest of the Initiate class he was with during the attack. The primary attack was by droids and bounty hunters on the Room of a Thousand Fountains, where Anakin was teaching a class during the attack.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I am not sure why none of us were informed of this, but Palpatine escaped from jail. He took part in the attack on the Temple, and we have reason to believe he captured Anakin.”

Padmé let out a cry. She covered her mouth with her hand. Palpatine, escaped. Why hadn’t any of them been warned? Whose fault was this? “Were there any other Jedi captured?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “Not that I can tell. Five Padawans were injured and one Initiate killed, but the attack was very brief. It is probable that capturing Anakin was the primary objective.”

Padmé drew in a deep breath. She had to see her children, help rescue her husband. “I’ll be right over there.”

She stepped back into her pod. “Jar-Jar, I have a family emergency. Do you think you can handle stepping in for me for the rest of the day?”

“Oh, yes, meesa will do a bango job! Muy, muy sorry for the emergency, Senator.” Jar-Jar nodded his head, ears flapping.

“Threepio, why don’t you stay with Jar-Jar and help him for the day? When business is finished for the day, return to the apartment.”

“I will do my best to uphold democracy in your absence. May I inquire of the nature of the—”

“Thank you, Threepio.” Padmé rushed out of the pod and hurried down the hall.

As she headed down towards her speeder, a figure ran up beside her.

“Are you going to the Jedi Temple?” Lux Bonteri asked.

Padmé nodded. “You can ride with me.” Without a doubt, Ahsoka’s new husband would want to make sure his Jedi wife was alright. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to say the same about her Jedi husband. _Hold on, Anakin. I’m coming._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Anakin wakes up and faces Palpatine again!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin faces off against Palpatine.

Anakin jerked awake. His eyes snapped open. Black swam in front of his eyes. He had woken up, hadn’t he?

He sat up slowly and tried to take a deep breath, but something restricted his breathing. A cloth. There was some sort of cloth covering his face.

He reached up. Both his hands came up to his face. He was in stun cuffs of some sort. His fingers touched cloth. He felt all over. It was a hood, with no nose or mouth holes. Just eye holes so he could see nothing.

He reached out with the Force, reached for Obi-Wan.

A door burst open in front of him. Palpatine strode in, hood covering his withered face. He held one squirming twin in each hand.

Anakin sprang to his feet. “No! Let them go!”

“So these are the younglings that you chose over me,” Palpatine snarled. “Now you must pay the price for choosing them instead of the Dark Side.”

Luke and Leia began choking. Anakin tried to reach out with the Force, but he couldn’t feel it. He let out a yell and charged Palpatine.

Palpatine dropped Luke on the floor, raised his hand, and blasted Anakin with lightning. He flew against the wall and hit hard. As he slid down, he heard two distinct snaps echo through the room.

No.

Palpatine turned and strode out, the door closing behind him.

Anakin was left with his children. He forced himself upright. His legs were weak, and he fell to his knees in between them. He reached out shaking hands for Luke. He was lying awkwardly on his side. He gently turned him onto his back.

He was dead.

No. No, no, no. He turned to Leia. She was lying on her stomach. He gently turned her over. _Please, please, not both of them._

She was gone.

Choked sobs overwhelmed Anakin. Tears filled his eyes. “Please, no. Bring them back. Please.” He didn’t know who he was talking to, but he hoped they listened. “I can’t live without them. They’re my babies. Please! They don’t deserve this.”

He reached out for Leia, tried to gather her in his arms, but she vanished. He let out a pained cry and reached for Luke, but he was gone too. “No! Don’t take them from me.”

The ache in his chest from the Force lightning vanished. Sobs choked his chest. He tried to wipe his tears away, but the mask made it difficult.

The mask.

Sith torture mask. It had to be. The Sith torture mask, it, it…

It made you see your worst nightmares if you tried to use the Force.

It wasn’t real. None of this was real.

Luke and Leia were alive, they had to be. Obi-Wan was with them, he never would have let them be taken.

It had to be fake. All a construct of the Dark Side.

He scooted back until he hit the wall, then made his way into the corner. He brought his knees to his chest and pressed his fists into his eyes. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real. Luke and Leia were alive somewhere, they had to be. He had to stay strong for them, for Padmé, for the rest of his family.

“My name is Anakin Skywalker, and I am a Jedi Master,” he whispered. “My name is Anakin Skywalker, and I am a Jedi Master.”

“You are mistaken about that,” Palpatine said dryly. “As you are mistaken about a great many things.”

Palpatine stood in the doorway of the cell.

Anakin got to his feet. “You’re not real.”

Palpatine cackled. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’ve tasted what the mask can do.”

“Where are my children? What have you done with them?” Anakin demanded.

“I haven’t done anything yet.”

He charged Palpatine. Force lightning blasted into him. He slammed into the corner and fell to the floor gasping for breath.

“Oh, my boy, you should be more careful,” Palpatine admonished.

Anakin pushed himself up off the floor. “You…shouldn’t…hit me with Force lightning.”

Palpatine simply chuckled. “You know better. I’m afraid disobedience must be punished.” His voice grew stern. “And you were very disobedient in my office seven years ago. Of course, if you join me now, all will be forgiven. If you refuse, my young apprentice, the road to the Dark Side will be long and hard and painful.”

“I’m not your apprentice,” Anakin said. He wanted to charge him again but knew it would only result in another blast of Force lightning. Slow learner or not, he refused to act like his toddler. “And I won’t turn to the Dark Side.”

That odious chuckle filled the cell. Palpatine raised his hands. Lightning shot out of them. Pain seized every pore, every hidden depth in Anakin.

He collapsed to the floor, screaming. _He was cradling his mother in his arms. Her hand slid off his face and she fell limp. Raw pain ripped through Anakin, and before he could barely process his grief, he was cutting down Tusken after Tusken._

_The heat and the sand pressed in around him. Jedi after Jedi had fallen around him, there to rectify his mistake, and Padmé’s, and his master’s. Padmé had fallen out of the gunship and he hadn’t been allowed to protect her, as his mandate had been, as his heart cried out for him to do. He ran to fight with Dooku, but was blasted back, and had to watch as Obi-Wan was beaten and almost killed. He managed to beat Dooku back for a time, but then the lightsaber had slashed through his arm._

_He was in the midst of the worst battle he’d been in yet, trying but failing to get back to his master’s side. An explosion ripped through the place Anakin knew Obi-Wan had been standing. Pain ripped through his bond, so mind-numbing that he didn’t even realize he was screaming._

_It had been the most random chase, so easy. They’d chased criminals like this a thousand times before. And yet Anakin was left standing and screaming as he saw Obi-Wan fall to a common criminal. The pain ripped through him as he stood before his funeral pyre._

_He was standing on the Temple steps with Ahsoka’s braid in his hands, pleading with her to reconsider, to stay in the Order. But nothing he said could convince her. She walked away, and he was left alone. Again._

_He had listened to Obi-Wan this time, they had fought Dooku together, but it hadn’t helped. Obi-Wan was blasted back by Dooku again, and an entire balcony dropped on him. Palpatine urged him to cut off Dooku’s head for revenge for his hand, but it was revenge for Obi-Wan that spurred Anakin on._

_He was being torn in so many different directions. The Jedi were saying one thing, Palpatine was saying another. He didn’t know who to believe anymore. And now he was staring at Palpatine, listening to one of his oldest friends confess to being a Sith Lord. He didn’t physically scream, not when he was holding him at the point of his lightsaber, not when he was telling Mace what he’d heard, not when he was waiting tortured in the Council chambers, not when Mace and Palpatine were both shouting at him to make a decision, not when he cut off Palpatine’s hands and convinced Mace that with no hands Palpatine was now safe to be left alive for trial, but inside, he was screaming the entire time. He had lost one of his closest friends. Again. And the worst part of it was Palpatine had never really been his friend in the first place._

Anakin barely realized the Force lightning had drawn back. He lay on the floor gasping as much as he could, but the cloth restricted his breathing.

A gnarled hand slipped under his chin and lifted it up. “This can all end right now if you join me and become a Sith. But if you insist on clinging to your pathetic Light Side, I’m afraid we’re going to be here for a very long time.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Jedi make plans to find Anakin.

Obi-Wan was drowning. He was falling through an unfriendly galaxy and no one was there to catch him. The last time this had happened, he had lost the only father figure he’d ever known, killed a Sith, and become responsible for the life of a young boy. Now that boy was a young man, his brother, and he had failed him. Anakin was gone. He wanted to scream into the void. If it weren’t for his Jedi training and Padmé sitting at his side in the seat that should be Anakin’s, he would have.

They were both hurting. If she could be strong through this, so could he.

“There’s no sign of any place where they might have gone?” he asked, struggling to keep the despair out of his voice.

Yoda sighed. “Afraid not, I am. Disappeared into hyperspace with young Skywalker, Darth Sidious did.”

“And we have no way to track them. The ship left along one of the most commonly used hyperspace lanes, and I have no doubt Palpatine made many jumps before reaching his final destination,” Mace said.

“Surely there’s some way we can track where Palpatine took my husband?” Padmé said. She wasn’t actually supposed to be here, but none of the Council members had been brave enough to tell her she couldn’t be in the Council meeting where they discussed how to rescue Anakin. Obi-Wan was glad at least one Skywalker was at his side in this terrible discussion.

“We send out spies,” Kit Fisto said. “Send Jedi teams to investigate all of Palpatine’s previous hidden bases and any notorious Sith temples and sites.”

“Alert all planetary governments to what has happened and ask that any information they hear on Anakin is sent directly to us,” Obi-Wan said. “Not all will comply, but it greatly widens the range of information we’ll be getting. Anakin has been very popular in the media and the galaxy ever since the Clone Wars. There will be many planets who will be ready and willing to aid in our search.” But what happened now? Where would he be going? What about Padmé, or Ahsoka? What happened to the mission they were going to send Anakin on now that they were going to have all sorts of missions to go look for _him_? And how could Obi-Wan ever keep a level head during his search for Anakin while he knew, he _knew_ , that right now, Anakin was being tortured?

He drew heavily on the Force, breathing deeply to calm himself. He could panic later. Right now, Anakin needed him. “Ahsoka and I can go to Korriban to see if there’s any sign of Sidious and Anakin.”

“I’d like to go with you,” Padmé said.

Obi-Wan’s heart leaped into his throat. Padmé, on Korriban? Anakin would never forgive him if he found out he had taken his wife there. Force, Obi-Wan would never forgive himself if he took one of his closest friends to that horrible planet. “Padmé, that may not be the best idea. You have five young children, who right now are scared and vulnerable. They need you. Besides, Korriban is no place for a non-Force sensitive person. You can help better by using your knowledge of Palpatine to think of any places he might have taken Anakin.”

Padmé sank back in her—Anakin’s—seat. “I suppose you’re right. I just…I can’t help thinking of him out there, all alone.” She raised a hand to her eyes.

“We will find him, Padmé,” Obi-Wan said with assurance he did not feel.

“We’d better,” Padmé said.

Anakin was shaking. He was trying so hard not to reach out to the Force, but it was nearly killing him. He had been tortured with electric shocks before, it seemed like the only method of torture anyone ever employed against him in the Clone Wars, but Palpatine’s lightning was so much worse. He knew it wouldn’t kill him, even though he was having trouble breathing and couldn’t control his limbs anymore. Palpatine wanted him alive. He wanted him as his apprentice. But the agonizing pain ripped through him over and over and over, and it was all he could do not to reach out with the Force and try to stop it.

He needed the Force. He had never realized quite how much before, but it was almost as much a part of him as breathing. And now, he dared not draw on it.

He couldn’t bear to see another of his children killed before him.

Palpatine raised his hands to send another round of lightning before him. Even after all this time, the pain of seeing the man he had once thought of as his father doing this to him ripped through him. He had _trusted_ him, for thirteen years he had trusted him. “Please…stop.”

“Swear your allegiance to me, my young apprentice, and this will all be over,” Palpatine soothed.

“Never,” Anakin snarled weakly. “I’ll never…join you.”

“That is where you are wrong, my young apprentice. It simply remains to be seen how long you will keep up this pathetic defiance before you succumb to destiny.” Palpatine stepped out of the cell. Anakin caught his breath. Was it over for now? Was he going to leave him?

Palpatine reentered with a metal handle in his hand and something trailing behind him.

A shock whip.

Anakin braced himself. He had been beaten before, of course, but Watto’s worst beating seemed like a loving reprimand compared to the pain a shock whip could bring. “Guess you got tired of shocking me yourself, huh?”

Palpatine said nothing, just raised the whip. As it came down, Anakin bit his lip. He would not scream.

Pain seized his body. He tried to draw more strength to withstand the strikes, but the lightning had weakened him, and without access to the Force, he had no well of strength to draw on. It took only three strikes to leave him screaming in pain.

“Draw on your pain, use your aggressive feelings, and strike me down! End this torment with all of your hatred.”

“Never,” Anakin gasped. “I wouldn’t kill you before and I won’t kill you now.” Never mind that before his actions had been borne out of selfishness. He was a Jedi. He was better than that.

The whip struck again and again and again. Anakin could do nothing but scream.

“Mommy! Mommy! Did you find Daddy?” Luke wrapped his arms around Padmé’s legs as she walked into the apartment. Padmé put her hand on his head and glanced around the apartment. The younger kids had become invested in a game Threepio was playing with them, but Leia was sitting on the couch with her arms crossed, glaring at the wall as if it was Palpatine. Ahsoka was sitting next to her, trying to talk to her, but Leia just ignored her.

“No, sweetie, not yet.” Padmé disentangled Luke’s arms from her and started for the kitchen. The kids needed to eat. She needed to eat. Dinner was something she could focus on, something she could do.

Luke followed her to the kitchen. “Are you gonna go look for him?”

“I’m going to help the Jedi look for him from here so I can be with you.” Padmé dug into the conservator and pulled out the instant meals they saved for emergencies. None of them were enough to fully feed a family of seven on their own, but putting several of them together, she could manage to feed them all. “But Uncle Obi-Wan and Auntsoka are going to go look for him.” She still wished she could go along on one of the missions to look for her Ani, but she acknowledged the logic of keeping her here. She had children that needed her, and a job that didn’t end because her world did. If she got more confirmation of where Anakin was, she would have to go on the rescue mission, but for now, she would let the Jedi do their jobs.

Ahsoka abandoned Leia on the couch and came to stand near Padmé. “Did they assign us missions then? Do they know where he might be?”

Padmé met her eyes and gave a slight shake of her head. “You and Obi-Wan are following up on a lead. It’s a very small one, but…” She shrugged. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“Only if you need me to. Would you rather me stay, or would you rather be alone?”

Jinn burst into tears on the rug. Padmé tensed, her hands on the package of an instant meal.

Lux emerged from a holocall in the corner of the room to scoop him up. Padmé relaxed. “I’d like it if you stayed. I don’t think you’ll be leaving with Obi-Wan until the morning, but he told me you need to call him before you go to sleep tonight.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Then we’ll stay.”

Luke grabbed Padmé’s shirt in both fists, holding on tight as if he was afraid she would disappear as well. Her heart twisted, and she placed her hand on the head of her oldest child.

“You will find Daddy, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Ahsoka said. “Anakin’ll be back before you know it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically, Kit Fisto should be dead at this point because of where the timelines diverged (besides Siri being alive), but I couldn't bear to have him dead, so let's just say he was gravely injured, and with prosthetic or cloned organs, he was just fine. Okay? Okay.  
> Next, more pain and angst.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin attempts to escape.

Anakin didn’t even notice the door was open at first.

Not that it mattered. He couldn’t move from the floor on his own. The shock whip had taken too much out of him.

Two silvery feet stood in front of him. Not Palpatine, then.

The door closed. Anakin knew he wouldn’t have had the strength to escape, but his heart sank in his chest regardless.

A metal hand grabbed his arm and hauled him up to a sitting position. His head tipped back and he was left staring up at a protocol droid.

A protocol droid with a tray of food in one hand.

The droid placed the food on the floor and ripped the mask from his head. Anakin gasped as the Force flooded back in. Why were they—

The droid knelt on the floor and grabbed a cup from the tray. “Drink,” it ordered.

Oh. The droid was feeding him. Right. Made sense. Palpatine didn’t want him to die, after all. A dead apprentice made a bad apprentice.

The droid held the cup to his lips. He drank deeply. “Where am I?”

“I am not authorized to impart that information.” The droid replaced the cup and released Anakin’s arm to pick up the plate and a fork. Without the support of the droid, Anakin’s weakened body fell backward onto the floor.

Undaunted, the droid simply knelt in front of him and fed him.

The food wasn’t exactly tasty, but it was soft and easy to swallow. Probably nutritious, too. All the nastiest foods were. A bit of his strength returned, though not much more than allowed him to level a steady glare at the droid. “Where am I?”

“You are in a cell,” the droid said.

“I can see that! But where is the cell?”

“The cell you are in is currently residing in an undisclosed location.” The droid placed the empty plate down on the tray.

Anakin growled. He forced himself to his feet, despite the shakiness of his body.  
The food had strengthened him. “Let me out.” He reached for the Force. He probably wouldn’t be able to reach Obi-Wan from this far away, but it was worth a try. _Obi-Wan. I’m in a cell somewhere being held by Palpatine. I don’t know where. You have to help me!_ He blasted the droid against the wall and opened the door with the Force. Outside was a long corridor, also made of this black…stone. Anakin believed it was stone. The hallway was very dark and completely empty. He couldn’t see where it led, but anywhere had to be better than here.

He ran out of the cell. Pain seized every muscle. He collapsed on the floor with a scream. Through the pain, he managed to force his mind to focus on the source. The cuffs.

He released them from his wrists and stood up, making his way slowly and shakily down the corridor. His body couldn’t take much more of this.

The bond with Obi-Wan was too strained by the distance. He must be quite far from Coruscant, then, unless Obi-Wan was far off in the galaxy looking for him. Yet one of the bonds he had was still somewhat strong. His bond with Luke.

_Luke, buddy, I need you to tell Uncle Obi-Wan I’m somewhere far away from him and I just escaped the cell Palpatine put me in, all right?_

A gasp filled his mind. “ _Daddy?”_

Anakin crept along the corridor. It took a turn to the right. He pressed himself against the corner. _Yes, it’s me, Luke. I’m okay. Palpatine’s trying to make me turn to the Dark Side, but it’s not going to happen. Tell that to Obi-Wan, too, okay?_

_“Okay. I love you, Daddy. You’re going to come home, right?”_

_Of course I am. Just as soon as possible. Give Mommy a kiss for me. I love you too, baby._

_“I will. Don’t let the bad man hurt you.”_

Anakin smiled and poked his head around the corner. Still empty. It ended a couple of feet away in a large blast door. _I won’t._ He strode to the door. No control panel, no access panel, no nothing. With no lightsaber, how was he going to open this door? _Yoda says size doesn’t matter. I can do this._ He focused on the Force and slowly, painfully, opened the blast door.

Palpatine stood on the other side, grinning.

“Shavit.” Anakin almost bolted back where he had come from, but there was no way to escape from there. He’d have to face Palpatine head on to escape. “Let me go and I won’t demand your execution.”

“Oh, my boy, what makes you think it will be that easy? Everything that has transpired has done so according to _my_ design.” Palpatine folded his hands.

His hands. Those weren’t real hands. Anakin reached his hand out and felt for the circuits in Palpatine’s robotic hands.

 _There._ He destroyed the circuits. Now, Palpatine wouldn’t be able to use his lightsaber, which he should probably steal from him and use against him.

His belt was empty.

No. What was Palpatine doing? Why would he not come armed?

Palpatine raised his hands, his _useless_ hands, and blasted Anakin in the chest with Force lightning. He flew back and landed on the floor, gasping, too spent to even scream.

_Not fair._

Palpatine bent and grabbed Anakin’s arm, then dragged him back into his cell with surprising strength. Must be the Dark Side. He removed the droid, then retrieved the stun cuffs from the floor.

Painful tremors wracked Anakin’s body. He could do nothing but watch. Soon, he’d have the mask on his face again and be unable to touch the Force. _Luke, I’m so sorry. I didn’t escape. I failed._

Palpatine pulled Anakin’s wrists behind his back and snapped the stun cuffs around them, then bent and grabbed the Sith torture mask.

Anakin’s heart beat wildly. No. He didn’t want to feel that again. He wanted to feel the Force, the light. He wanted to feel his son. “Please.” His voice was ragged and hoarse, but once it had moved Palpatine. No longer. “Please, no. Not the mask.” His eyes filled with tears.

 _“What? No! Come back! Daddy!”_ Luke’s shriek abruptly stopped as the Sith mask was pulled over Anakin’s face again.

Anakin’s heart ripped to shreds. His baby needed him, and he wasn’t there. It wasn’t as traumatic as seeing him die before his eyes, but this was different. This was real. Luke’s shriek would haunt him for a long, long time.

“Mommy!”

The shriek arose from Luke’s bedroom where he had been quietly playing. Padmé bolted from her office where she had been reading over some bills instead of doing fundraising calls and ran into the bedroom Luke shared with Ben. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Luke crashed into her and wrapped his arms around her, sobbing. “Daddy’s gonna die! The bad man’s gonna kill him!”

Ben, who was sprawled out on his bed, looked up from a flimsi he was coloring. “No, he’s not! He’s gonna escape with the Force.”

“He is not!” Luke retorted. “I heard him, and he didn’t. He got caught. He said he failed. Mommy, you have to save him!” He stared up at her, his face streaked with tears.

Padmé patted Luke’s head, not sure what to say. “Come here, into my office, and tell me what’s wrong.” It might be more comforting to stay in his bedroom, but she didn’t want Ben to hear what Luke had to say. It would simply distress him further, especially if Luke had really heard Anakin through the Force or something.

Luke sniffled and walked with her to her office, his arms wrapped around her the entire time. She sat down in her office chair and pulled him into her lap. “Now, baby, what’s wrong?”

“I heard Daddy! He said he’d escaped and he was far away from Uncle Obi-Wan, and that Pal—Palpatine was trying to turn him to the Dark Side. Then he…he said that he didn’t escape and that he failed. Mommy, you have to help him!”

Padmé wrapped her arms around him. “I’d do anything to save Daddy if I knew where he was.”

“But I don’t know! He didn’t say!” His voice rose hysterically. “You’ve got to find him!”

Padmé fought back tears. _Oh, Ani, I need you._ “We’re doing our best, baby.”

Luke pushed himself up, wrapped his arms around her, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Daddy said to give that to you.”

Her tears fell. “Oh, Luke.” She squeezed her son tight and tried to restrain from sobbing. She forced herself to straighten up. “I’m going to call Master Yoda. I want you to remember everything Daddy said to you.”

“Okay.” Luke wiped his tears and slid off her lap. “I can call him up for you.”

Nausea churned in Padmé’s stomach. “Thank you, dear. I’ll be right back, it’ll just be a minute.” She darted into the ‘fresher and vomited into the toilet. Exhaustion pounded through her.

She straightened up and began washing her hands in the sink. She stared at herself in the mirror. If only Anakin’s face would appear beside hers, and he would wrap his arms around her. “Come home, Anakin. Come home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I realized later that I'd had Palpatine use Force lightning even though he lost his hands. Oops. I heard somewhere a while ago that you don't lose the ability to lose Force lightning if you lose your hands, so let's just assume that's a thing and Vader never knew because Palps never told him, and also if he'd tried, his suit would have fried.
> 
> Next, Anakin suffers and Padme makes a bittersweet discovery.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ferus Olin investigates, Anakin suffers, and Padme makes a bittersweet discovery.

_“The search for Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker continues as Jedi Knights and Republic officials are dispatched all over the galaxy. With us today to speak about the search is former captain and current Temple guard Rex Skywalker. Captain? How goes the search for Master Skywalker?”_

Ferus Olin sighed and picked at his food, turning away from the grainy news holo. The Blistering Bantha didn’t have the best food in the galaxy, or even in Mos Espa, but it was one of the only places to get reliable, up-to-the-minute news, and not just of the outside galaxy. However, that particular usefulness had not proven as helpful as he had hoped. Nobody could tell him much about Jenna Zan Arbor beyond the fact that she’d been spotted with the Hutts seven days ago. Ferus had been on Tatooine four days, and he hadn’t learned anything beyond the fact that she hadn’t left the planet and wasn’t at Jabba’s palace anymore.

_“…we don’t have many leads as to the whereabouts of General Skywalker or the former chancellor. If anyone has any news, please contact the Temple or local authorities immediately.” Captain Rex gazed into the holocam solemnly._

_“How dangerous is former Chancellor Palpatine estimated to be?”_

A lump rose up in Ferus’s throat. Eleven years ago, he never would have guessed he’d be this torn up about Anakin’s capture, never mind hankering to go after the miserable Sith that captured him himself. He would have been academically worried and disappointed, but upset? Never. But Anakin wasn’t the same man he’d been eleven years ago, and Ferus wasn’t the stuck-up padawan who’d clung to the rules like his life depended on them. The Ferus from before never would have come back to the Jedi Order when Anakin Skywalker came and asked him to, and Anakin would have killed himself before asking. Even if Anakin had said, “I’m only here because my therapist and my wife said I had to.”

Ferus swallowed down the lump in his throat. He pushed credits over to the bartender and tromped upstairs to his scuzzy, sandy room. He emptied as much sand as he could out of his boots, then pulled out his comlink. He could always call his former master. He could use her advice, and not only on how to deal with Anakin’s disappearance. This mission was puzzling him. What could the Hutts want with a memory-erasing serum? Had Jabba funded a lab for Zan Arbor to finish her work on Tatooine? Where on the planet could he even start looking for said lab, if it existed?

His comlink beeped. He activated it.

Tru Veld stood, alternately wringing his hands and running his hands through his hair. “They’re not even letting me go look for him!”

“Who?” As soon as Ferus asked the question, he felt stupid. Who else but their mutual friend who’d apologized to them both and pulled the shattered friend group back together? Not that it was the same without Darra, but still.

“Anakin! The Council’s sending me on some stupid mission to Zygerria. He’s my best friend! He’d look for me if I was missing, and you know it!”

“Anakin’s on the council, he can assign himself to missions.” And if he didn’t get the mission, he’d just ignore the council and go anyway. Some things never changed. “Did you speak to Master Kenobi about it?”

“He wasn’t there; he’s on Korriban looking for Anakin.” Tru was pale just saying the name.

Ferus flinched at the name. “I hope Anakin’s not there.”

“If he’s not, then they’ll never find him.” Tru’s voice was heavy.

“We must trust the Force they will.” Ferus hated the way the words came out of his mouth. He felt just like a padawan again, spouting out trite Jedi phrases as if they solved everything. “Go ahead to Zygerria and destroy the slavers. For Anakin.” It’s what he would want. Just as he would be laughing right now if he knew his former rival was currently sandy and miserable on Tatooine.

Tru sighed. “I guess. May the Force be with you.”

“And also with you.” Ferus closed the call, then punched in Siri Tachi—sorry, Siri Kenobi’s number. He needed to talk to his former master.

Palpatine must have been playing a game called “How many ways can I electrocute Anakin Skywalker?” Instead of Force lightning or the shock whip, Anakin was strapped to a rack and being electrocuted periodically, in between calls to “Release your anger!” and “Strike me down!”

Anakin wanted to tell Palpatine this was never going to work, but he was too busy screaming.

Eventually, Palpatine gave up and dragged Anakin back to his cell. Anakin curled up on the floor and took in shuddering breaths. He tried to keep tears away but couldn’t. Tears streamed down his cheeks. _I want to go home._

A piercing beep drove through his ears and made him jump. The beep came again, prolonged, rising to a shriek. Anakin tugged at his handcuffs, but nothing happened. After his escape attempt, Palpatine had made sure the cuffs stayed behind his back. He couldn’t clamp his hands around his ears, and he was too hoarse from screaming to try and drown the sound out.

The shrieking continued. Pain drove into Anakin’s ears. He curled his hands into fists. “Stop it. Turn it off.” His voice was ragged. Pain scraped his dry throat.

The shrieking grew louder and higher. Another groan escaped him which turned into a scream. He couldn’t take this. The electrocution he could put up with, but this awful sound…

He reached out with the Force, feeling for the speakers hidden somewhere in his cell.

The door burst open. A group of Tusken Raiders walked in.

Anakin shook his head. “No. You’re not real. You’re not really here.”

“Do you know what you left behind on Tatooine?” the Tusken Raider in the lead of the group hissed in Huttese. “The village you slaughtered is haunted by the Dark Side. By ghosts who must be appeased.”

“Get away from me.” Anakin tried to stand and face them, but he didn’t have the strength to stand up.

“Do you know how to appease them?” The Tusken Raider knelt down. “You slaughtered men, women, and children. Entire families were killed because of your rage.”

“No. No. I’m sorry. It was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it. They killed my mother!” The words fell out of Anakin’s mouth as he struggled with his despair. Even in the moment, he’d known what he was doing was wrong, but he hadn’t wanted to contain himself. The Dark Side had felt good, and in surrendering to it, Anakin had made himself a mass murderer.

“Fortunately, we know how to cleanse it.” The Tusken Raider tilted his head. “We’ll sacrifice your entire family.”

“No. No! Leave them alone! Don’t touch them!” Anakin struggled to his knees. His muscles cramped and spasmed. He swayed, barely managing to stay upright. “Punish me, not them. I’m the murderer. They didn’t do anything wrong!”

Tusken Raiders kept flooding into his cell, hauling his family in with them. Padmé. Luke. Leia. Ben. Shmi. Little Jinn. Obi-Wan. Ahsoka. Even Siri and Lux. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew this couldn’t be real, but it had to be. He tried to push forward, but two Tuskens caught him around the arms and held him pinioned between them.

The lead Tusken reached into his robes and drew out Anakin’s own lightsaber. The monster activated it, and the blade shimmered blue in the darkness of the cell.

“Please, they didn’t do anything wrong. Cut me down, not them. Leave them alone, please!”

The Tusken turned, raised the lightsaber, and cut down Padmé.

Anakin screamed. The blue blade transfixed him as it cut down his children, his brother, his sister, their spouses. He collapsed as the blade deactivated. The Tuskens dropped him to the floor. He curled up, sobbing and screaming, barely even noticing when the Tuskens left and the bodies faded away.

Padmé poked at the food on the plate Siri had placed in front of her. Even looking at the food turned her stomach. Her nausea had been bad all morning.

“More!” Satine cried, holding out her food-smeared hands. Luke gave her another forkful of food from his own plate.

“Luke, eat your own food,” Padmé said.

Luke scowled and tucked into his plate. “I’m not hungry,” he muttered.

“Mo!” Jinn repeated.

Leia gave him a spoonful of his food. “Why does Luke have to eat his food? You’re not eating yours.”

“Leia, stay out of this.” Iron filled Padmé’s voice. She didn’t have the patience for Leia’s sass right now.

“Satine’s hungrier than I am,” Luke muttered.

“Satine has already eaten her own food. You need to eat yours. You want to grow up to be a big strong Jedi, don’t you?” Padmé asked.

Luke just shrugged and ate his lunch very slowly.

“Stay safe, Ferus.” Siri shut off her comm and returned to the table.

“Was that Uncle Obi-Wan?” Ben asked.

“No, it was your uncle Ferus,” Siri said. “Come on, Luke, aren’t you hungry?”

“No,” Luke muttered sullenly.

“Has Uncle Obi-Wan found Daddy yet?” Ben asked.

“I don’t think so,” Siri said gently. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t find him soon. Obi-Wan’ll never give up until he finds him.”

Padmé forced herself to eat more food. As soon as the food touched her tongue, she couldn’t fight back her nausea anymore. She bolted for the ‘fresher, barely making it in time to throw up.

Unbidden memories rose up in her. She’d been this miserable before, when there had been reports Anakin was killed in the Outer Rim sieges, completely exhausted and unable to keep food down. She’d thought she was just depressed but found out that she was really pregnant with Luke and Leia not long after.

It had been over a week since her last cycle should have been.

It was possible she was just late and stressed.

But deep inside, she knew.

She was pregnant. And alone.

Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, I'm sorry, and I'm really sorry for the next chapter. The physical torture should be coming to an end soon.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Palpatine takes a new tactic to get Anakin to give in to the Dark Side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a bit of a trigger warning, Anakin *SPOILER* loses his arm (again) in a somewhat horrific way, so be warned. *END SPOILER* It's not incredibly graphic, but if you have problems with that, be wary. Stay safe, everyone.

“Maybe we’re just not looking hard enough.” Ahsoka kicked over a Sith tomb, choking back tears. “There could be a secret lair, or some hidden room we’re not seeing. There’s an entire planet to look over. He could be here somewhere.” She had been hoping, deep inside, that she just had to lift some rock or peek around a corner and there would be Anakin, a little bruised, but smiling and with a quip that he’d had to rescue himself because they were taking too long.

She had so hoped that they would find him here.

“I don’t think he’s here, Ahsoka.” Master Obi-Wan’s voice was defeated, as if he’d already given up.

“You can’t give up! He could be here somewhere!” Ahsoka’s voice rose shrilly. She tried to remind herself to stay calm, but the Dark Side was pressing in on her. It had been since they’d landed.

Something beeped. Ahsoka jumped and spun around. Obi-Wan pressed a button on his comm. Master Yoda appeared in miniature hologram.

“What is it?” Obi-Wan asked.

Ahsoka ran to his side. “Are there clues? Do you know where he is?”

Master Yoda sighed. “Return to the Temple, you must. Talked to Anakin, young Luke has, in his mind. Far away you are from Anakin’s location. Talk about the information he gave us, we must.”

“Understood. We will return as soon as possible.” Master Obi-Wan turned off his comm.

“You mean we’ve been on the wrong track the whole time? We’re not even one step closer to finding him?” Ahsoka struggled mightily not to burst into tears, but it was a losing battle.

“Oh, Ahsoka, come here.” Obi-Wan opened his arms.

Ahsoka bolted into them, wrapping her arms tightly around him. She buried her face in his shoulder and burst into tears.

“I miss him too.” Obi-Wan’s voice wavered. “But we will find him. He didn’t give up when I was captured by Ventress, and we won’t give up on him either.”

“But he must hurt so mu…hu…huch!” Ahsoka sobbed.

“I know, young one.” Obi-Wan’s voice broke. “I know.”

“It seems you have once again learned what happens when you defy me,” Palpatine snapped.

Anakin startled awake, Luke’s shriek echoing in his ears. “I saw the consequences of turning to the Dark Side.” Speaking scraped his dry throat painfully. “I’m never turning. All it can do is destroy me.” He fought back tears. Water was precious, and he couldn’t let Palpatine see his weakness. He couldn’t lose his family. Not because of his actions. It would destroy him. “Please, leave me alone.” He let his weary eyes fall shut.

The plea fell out before he could stop it. He didn’t have the strength to argue with Palpatine again. He couldn’t take seeing anyone he cared about die again.

“The Dark Side calls to you.” A hand stroked his chin. “This mask only impedes your use of the pathetic light side. You are free to use the Dark Side at any time.”

Anakin fought with himself. He wanted to open his eyes to keep an eye on what Palpatine was doing to him, but he didn’t want to see Palpatine so close to him. “Leave me alone,” he said through gritted teeth.

Palpatine called something in another language, a hissing, sinister language. Anakin’s eyes flew open and he sat up painfully.

A large Sith hound, a tuk’ata, slunk into the cell. His breath quickened. He curled his hands into fists, though it would do no good.

“This is a Sith hound,” Palpatine said.

“I know what it is,” Anakin growled. “I’ve seen them before.”

“Then you know what it can do. The only way to tame a Sith hound is through the Dark Side, or by speaking in the Sith language. This one is under my command. It will do what I will it. Unless,” he paused suddenly, “You manipulate it with the Force.”

Anakin swallowed hard. He slowly scooted himself back towards the wall.

The tuk’ata stalked closer. The cell door hissed shut. Palpatine retreated to the corner of the room, folding his hands in his sleeves.

Anakin scooted back until his back hit the wall. “Get back!”

Palpatine chuckled and said something in the Sith language. The hound stalked forward. It licked its lips and growled.

“Get back!” Anakin shouted. Despite himself, fear curled in his chest. _Stay calm. It’s just pain. What can the tuk’ata really do to you?_

“Only through the Dark Side can you influence the hound to leave you alone,” Palpatine said.

“Shut up,” Anakin said. The hound drew closer. He kicked it in the teeth.

The hound drew back, then darted forward. Its teeth closed over his leg.

Hot pain stabbed through Anakin. He let out a scream. He raised his other foot and kicked the hound in the eyes.

The hound dropped his leg and scooted back a foot.

Anakin fell back, panting. Blood coated his leg. Pain sent weak shakiness through it, but he didn’t think the wound was too deep. Just deep enough to make it hard to walk for a while. He gritted his teeth and held back a groan.

The hound ran towards him, just as the handcuffs dropped from around his wrists. He knew that was undoubtedly because of Palpatine, but he leaped on the opportunity he’d been given. He grabbed the jaws of the beast as it snapped at him, pushing its chest away with his good foot. The tuk’ata strained at him. His arms shook with the effort of holding it back.

Aiming for its eye had driven it away before. If he could poke it in the eye, maybe it would decide he wasn’t a tasty snack. He probably wouldn’t be able to hold it away from him for long with one arm, so it would have to be with the stronger one. He wrapped his mechanical hand around the front of the hound’s jaw and jabbed his left hand’s fingers into the beast’s eye.

The beast roared. His hand slipped. The hound darted forward. His hand, his arm, went down the animal’s throat. He tried to jerk it free, but the hound’s jaws snapped shut, just barely into the flesh of his arm. He grunted, trying not to scream. He pushed at the beast’s face, banged his fist in its eye, but the beast stayed firm.

The jaws closed down. White-hot pain blasted through Anakin’s brain. He screamed, his body going limp.

“Pathetic,” echoed Palpatine’s voice. His vague, blurry figure walked out the doorway. The Sith hound spat his arm out onto the floor before following.

Anakin crawled into the corner of his cell where he would have more walls protecting him. He cradled his stump to his chest and curled around himself, letting his body go limp again.

“Mom?” A brown head peeked around the bathroom door. Padmé didn’t have the energy to hide the positive pregnancy test she was holding in her hands from Leia. She slumped on the edge of the sanisteam she was sitting on.

Leia walked into the bathroom. “What’s that? Are you all right?”

Padmé tried to find the strength to be strong for her daughter, but it was nowhere to be found. She shook her head, pressing her hand to her face and fighting back tears.

Leia walked forward and wrapped her small arms around her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

Padmé raised her head. “I’m pregnant. Leia, sweetie, I’m pregnant.”

Leia took a deep, shaky breath. “Okay.” She was silent for a moment. “Daddy’ll be really happy when you tell him.”

Padmé lost her battle to tears. She wrapped Leia in a tight hug. Leia hugged her tightly back.

Leia pressed a kiss to her cheek. “It’ll be okay, Mommy. You’ll see. Daddy’ll be all right. The Force’ll make sure of that.”

Padmé just nodded, taking comfort from her daughter’s strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...I'm sorry. Really sorry. Next, Anakin recovers, and Obi-Wan gets some downtime with his loved ones.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin recovers. Obi-Wan returns to the Temple.

Vague nightmares floated around just as the bacta surrounding Anakin. He didn’t remember being put in bacta. He didn’t remember much, really. There was some kind of mask on his face, but he couldn’t be sure whether it was the mask that he hated or not. He kept trying to fight the sedation but couldn’t ever make it much more than halfway out of the dark.

Occasionally, Palpatine grinned at him from outside the bacta and the transparisteel. Anakin wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to scream at him.

He didn’t have the strength.

Darkness pressed into his mind continually. Palpatine’s insidious voice wrapped around his very thoughts.

_You have no family except me._

_I am your only ally._

_Turn to me and I will give you the power to break your chains of bondage!_

Anakin so wanted that power. He wanted to leave this tank, this misery that encroached on him, but he couldn’t. The dark power was just beyond his grasp. It was easy enough for him to grab, if he wanted it.

Palpatine was his friend, wasn’t he? He had been his friend. He just wanted to help him. And Palpatine was offering him an escape.

How much could it really hurt for him to use that power? Just enough for him to break his chains and leave this misery. Then he could go back to his family.

He did have a family, didn’t he?

_You have no family, only me. Come with me, use your darkness and your power, and we will destroy all those who dare imprison you._

Yes. Yes. Palpatine just wanted to help him. He wanted to save him. He reached out for Palpatine, for that dark power.

_“What? No! Come back! Daddy!”_

Anakin’s eyes snapped open. Luke. His baby.

What had he been thinking?

He was wearing an oxygen mask, not the Sith torture mask. The Force was safe again.

He gathered the Force and shoved Palpatine out of his mind. Heavy traces of him lingered.

Compulsions. Palpatine had been weaving Sith compulsions in his mind while he was semi-conscious but too weak to fight back.

He would have been enslaved to the Dark Side and he wouldn’t have even realized it.

Bile rose up in Anakin’s throat. He forced himself to swallow it back down. The only other option was choking to death on vomit in the mask.

 _Get out of my head, Palpatine._ He threw the thought weakly at his former friend through the Force. Vaguely, he could make out Palpatine scowling at him on the other side of the tank.

 _“Oh, no, my friend,”_ his voice hissed in his mind. _“I am afraid that is not going to happen.”_

Palpatine raised his hands. Electricity arced through the bacta tank. Pain spasmed through Anakin’s muscles. He had just enough oxygen to scream. The agony swamped him, overwhelmed him, until finally, his limbs went limp and fog overtook his brain.

 _“Now, let’s start again,”_ Palpatine said.

Anakin moaned.

Obi-Wan scanned the transcript of Luke’s conversation with Anakin, thankful it had been so easy for Yoda to help enhance Luke’s memory with the Force long enough to write the whole conversation down.

_“Luke, buddy, I need you to tell Uncle Obi-Wan I’m somewhere far away from him and I just escaped the cell Palpatine put me in, all right?”_

“ _Daddy?”_

_“Yes, it’s me, Luke. I’m okay. Palpatine’s trying to make me turn to the Dark Side, but it’s not going to happen. Tell that to Obi-Wan, too, okay?”_

_“Okay. I love you, Daddy. You’re going to come home, right?”_

_“Of course I am. Just as soon as possible. Give Mommy a kiss for me. I love you too, baby.”_

_“I will. Don’t let the bad man hurt you.”_

_“I won’t.”_

A long pause, then, _“Luke, I’m so sorry. I didn’t escape. I failed.”_

_“What? No! Come back! Daddy!”_

There was so little useful information. Anakin probably didn’t know any useful information, but that didn’t help to combat Obi-Wan’s despair. He stroked his chin and glanced up at Yoda and Mace, who had taken the other two cushions in the small meditation room. “This isn’t much to go on.”

True, it had alerted him and Ahsoka that Anakin was nowhere near Korriban, but it hadn’t done anything to improve Ahsoka’s mood. She was probably crying in Lux’s arms right now.

Obi-Wan had done his best to comfort her, but he wanted to scream. His little brother was missing, in the clutches of an evil Sith lord trying to turn him to the Dark Side, and he could do nothing.

“No, but it does eliminate several sectors we don’t have to search,” Mace said. “A little help is better than no help at all.”

“I’m worried for Anakin.” It was the understatement of the century, but Obi-Wan still liked to pretend he was a good Jedi. “I don’t know how long he can hold up under what Sidious is surely doing to him. I don’t know how long anyone can.”

“Mmm. Grave danger Skywalker is in. Faith we must have, that pull through, he can, until rescue him, we are able to.” Master Yoda stroked his chin. “True, it is, that several sectors can be eliminated because of this information. Despair, we must not. Every day, closer we come, to finding Skywalker.”

“How are the kids doing?” Mace asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged. “I haven’t been to see them since I got back. Padmé and the children have been staying with Siri and Satine for the past couple of days. Apparently, there have been quite a few arguments between the older children. She thinks they’ll all do better once classes start back tomorrow. If you don’t mind, I’d like to return to my apartment until the meeting later today.”

Mace and Yoda nodded at him. He took his leave and trudged through the halls to his apartment. Not even the prospect of seeing his beloved wife and daughter could cheer him up. He’d also have to face Padmé and poor Luke.

What could he ever say to them?

Obi-Wan opened his door to find Anakin’s droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, standing in his kitchen heatedly insulting each other. He sighed, stepped over a model starfighter lying in front of the door, and pulled his boots off. More toys were strewn all across his living room, some his daughter’s and some the Skywalker children’s. A small army of clone action figures dotted the couches, tables, and the floor, gifts from the men in the 501st and 212th who were competing for favorite uncle and who insisted on getting the Skywalker children entire battalions so they could reenact full Clone Wars battles. Shmi was sprawled on the floor enacting an animated, though confusing, narration of the battle, and his namesake was alternating between fighting against her with the corresponding armies of droid figures and trying to stand on his head. Leia was darting up from behind the couch to take potshots at certain clones with a fake gun supplied with foam bullets. Luke was curled up on the couch with a datapad in his lap and a worn stuffed wampa named Mr. Bantha in his arms.

Young Ben attempted another headstand.

“You’re gonna hurt yourself,” Leia said. She aimed the gun higher. A foam bullet bounced off Obi-Wan’s forehead. “I got you, Uncle Obi-Wan!”

Obi-Wan managed a smile at the children’s lightheartedness, even though he distinctly remembered Anakin complaining about Luke declaring himself “too old” for Mr. Bantha several months ago. At the time, Obi-Wan had told him it was probably a good thing Luke wasn’t carrying his souvenir of his accidental adventure with his father across the Outer Rim with him everywhere he went, but now, it showed how insecure Luke had become that Mr. Bantha had ended up back in his arms.

“I suppose you did, youngling.” Obi-Wan picked up the foam bullet and threw it back at Leia. “Where’s Aunt Siri and your mother?”

“’Fresher,” Leia said shortly.

Obi-Wan made his way across the warzone into his bedroom, which had a baby gate blocking the doorway. Right behind the gate, Jinn was trying to eat a big red rubber ball while Satine piled blocks on top of each other.

“Daddy!” Satine stood up and toddled towards Obi-Wan.

He swept her up into his arms and planted a kiss on her red hair. “How are you doing, darling?”

“Look!” Satine shoved the block up to his mouth.

Obi-Wan pushed it away from his lips. “That’s wonderful! Do you know what it says?”

“Uh-uh.” She threw it to the floor, narrowly missing Jinn’s head, and threw her arms around his neck.

Obi-Wan patted her back and made his way to the refresher, stepping over the gate keeping the babies from walking inside.

Padmé was kneeling over the toilet, cheeks streaked with tears. Siri stood beside her, hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay to be upset,” Siri said. “Your husband has been captured by a Sith Lord.”

“But I’m supposed to be strong!” Padmé brandished her hands, then blanched and gripped the toilet again. “I have children, I’m supposed to be strong for them, but I’m just…weepy and nauseous.”

“Because you’re pregnant and hormonal, Padmé, and you’re upset. That’s normal. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Obi-Wan drew in a sharp breath. Pregnant. Oh, how he would have teased Anakin had they found out just a week earlier. Anakin would have been wildly excited and incredibly exhausted at the news. _Oh, Anakin, you have to come home soon._

“Honey, I’m home.” He was pretty sure Siri already knew, but still wanted to announce his presence in this conversation.

Siri spun and wrapped him and Satine in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home. How was Korriban?” she whispered.

Obi-Wan shrugged. “Not as bad as last time.” He bent down and kissed Siri.

Satine began to scream. The couple parted with a sigh. Siri took Satine and jerked her head towards Padmé. “You’re gentle, see what you can do with her,” she whispered.

“But…” Obi-Wan wasn’t good with emotions, especially not pregnant women’s emotions. His modus operandi with Siri, both last time and now, was to stay out of the way and say “Yes, dear,” whenever possible. Then again, Siri got rather murderous on her bad days. From what he could remember from Anakin, on Padmé’s bad days, she was depressed and weepy.

Given that Siri was pregnant now, perhaps it was best to just go along. “Yes, dear,” he murmured, and stepped forward to Padmé.

To his great relief, Padmé stood up and wiped her tears. “It’s all right. I’m just a little…” Tears gathered in her eyes, but she took a deep breath and blinked them away. “I’m fine.”

“Siri’s right. There’s no shame in being upset.” Obi-Wan was still somewhat shying away from her, but she was his friend. He could be here for her.

“I know, but…” Padmé stepped by him and began washing her hands in the sink. “We need to fight, not mourn. Anakin’s still alive, so there’s still hope.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Congratulations, by the way.”

Padmé turned off the water and shook her hands dry. “I don’t know whether to be excited, nervous, upset, or all three.”

“Upset?” What was upsetting about more Skywalkers? Besides the obvious of course.

Padmé dried her hands on a towel. “Because…” She turned to him and her face crumpled. “Because Anakin’s not here. And there’s nothing I can do.”

Gentle. Obi-Wan enveloped his friend in a hug. “It’s all right, Padmé. We’ll find him.” He let Padmé cry on him. What advice had he given Anakin for dealing with a weepy Padmé? Just wait it out? He tentatively patted her back.

She pulled back and wiped her eyes again.

A shriek rose up from the living room. “Mommy, Leia shot me in the eye!” Ben shouted.

Padmé gave what sounded like both a laugh and a sigh and left the bedroom.

“It was an accident!” Leia said.

Siri rose from the floor, where she had distracted Satine from her tantrum with the blocks and put her arm around his waist. “Thank you. I’m glad to have them around until Anakin is rescued, but she was working herself into a fit being weepy and being upset that she was weepy, which was making her weepier.”

“I’m not exactly known for being gentle,” Obi-Wan said.

“You’re gentler than me,” Siri said.

He smiled, knowing better than to respond to that. He bent down and kissed her again.

Siri drew back and smiled. “There. That’s better.”

“What’s better?”

“No cloud of black hanging over you anymore.” She walked with him out the door, using the Force to swing the gate out of the way and put it back.

Obi-Wan restrained his instinct to say, “No casual use of the Force.” As Anakin said, “The rules change when you’ve got children.”

“How’s Luke doing?” he asked.

Siri sighed. “I don’t know. He’s very quiet. I think it would be good if you just…sat by him.”

Obi-Wan nodded.

“If I’m an overweight glob of grease, then you’re a…a talking trash can!” C-3PO said. “If you try to make dinner that way, then you’ll burn the apartment down!”

Siri sighed. “I’ll sort out these two and start dinner. Why don’t you go sit with Luke?”

Obi-Wan nodded again and made his way around the battalions and Padmé lecturing Leia to sit next to Luke.

Luke clutched Mr. Bantha closer to him and burrowed into Obi-Wan’s side. “Is Daddy really strong?” he whispered, gazing up at him with wide blue eyes.

Obi-Wan wrapped his arm around him. “He’s the strongest man I know.”

Luke dropped his gaze to his datapad. “So he’ll be all right? Even with Palpatine? Even if he can’t escape?”

 _“Palpatine’s trying to make me turn to the Dark Side, but it’s not going to happen.”_ “Of course he will.” Obi-Wan cast around for something to distract Luke. His datapad showed paragraphs of text. The children had been excused from homework for the time being, and, even though they were going back to classes tomorrow, all their teachers, Obi-Wan included, were being instructed to keep it easy on them, so the likelihood of that being homework was minimal. “Is that a holonovel?”

Luke nodded.

“What’s it about?”

“Pirates.” Luke burrowed deeper into Obi-Wan’s side and focused on his novel again.

Obi-Wan restrained a sigh. After dinner, once more Jedi had the chance to return from their search missions or at least reach a comm. He needed to start thinking where Palpatine might have taken Anakin that was far away from Korriban.

He gazed down at Luke, snuggling his stuffed wampa and pressed into his side, quietly reading his holonovel.

Perhaps those thoughts could wait for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Ferus finds out what Jenna Zan Arbor has been up to.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ferus finds out what Jenna Zan Arbor has been up to.

Ferus crouched behind a rock and gazed out at the base he had found. He shot a glance back at his speeder bike to make sure it was well hidden. He didn’t want Zan Arbor or Jabba’s minions to spot him spying on their secret science base in the middle of the Jundland Wastes.

He was so glad staking out Jabba’s palace for three and a half weeks had finally paid off. He’d spotted Jenna Zan Arbor coming into the palace earlier that day and followed her. While he hadn’t been able to get close enough to actually overhear the conversation, he had sensed that it was a very important one.

From what he could see at his spot behind his large boulder, the base was bustling more than usual. The old Ferus would have been inclined to watch and wait. Be cautious. But Anakin would just go on in. And the Force seemed to agree with that conclusion, prodding him to infiltrate the base immediately.

Ferus sighed and began to slowly sneak forward.

Ferus had had several close calls, and once had to behead a Gamorrean guard, but he had finally made it into the base. Now he just had to figure out where to go from here.

Most of the base was underground in tunnels, which meant more sand covered the ground. He tamped down his disgust. The heightened activity in the base meant he had to find out where he needed to go fast before anyone figured out he wasn’t supposed to be here.

He closed his eyes and sunk as deep in the Force as he could, which wasn’t half as deep as he’d like. _Show me where to go._

A path formed in his mind. His eyes snapped open. He followed the vague path, walking confidently so no one questioned him. He made his way down a level to a thick durasteel door set in the rock wall. He reached out with the Force.

The room was empty.

He raised his hand and heaved aside the door, then closed it behind him with the Force. He probably had the skill but didn’t have the patience to slice into the panel and tell it to open for him. That probably was a sign that he wasn’t a good Jedi, but the Force was urging him to hurry.

He was in a small lab, with cabinets, counters, a deactivated medical droid, portable holocams, and a refrigeration unit. Darkness, pain, sadness, loss tainted the room. Something evil had happened in this room.

Ferus grabbed the closest holocam and activated it.

A small, holographic Jenna Zan Arbor appeared. “State the password, please.”

He swallowed. He had no way of guessing what the password might be.

 _Danger!_ Presences were approaching.

Ferus stabbed the button to deactivate the holocam and glanced frantically around the room. Maybe one of the cabinets was empty enough for him to hide in. He opened all the doors with the Force.

There. Halfway down the left wall. A mostly empty cabinet space on the floor. He dove into it, folded himself as small as he could go, and closed all the doors.

Good thing Anakin wasn’t here. He’d never fit into the cabinet.

Ferus closed his eyes and stretched out his senses towards the lab.

The door hissed open. Three presences walked in, two human, one alien, probably Gamorrean. He was fairly sure one of them was Zan Arbor.

“I just don’t know. What could this Palpacream want with my memory serum?” Zan Arbor asked.

“It’s Palpa _tine_. You know, the former chancellor who turned out to be a Sith Lord?” a gravelly male voice replied. Ferus didn’t know exactly who it belonged to, but it was a voice he’d heard a few times around Jabba’s palace. The man was one of Jabba’s goons. “And the serum is Jabba’s. Don’t forget that. Without his funding, you never could have made the serum.”

So Ferus’s theory had been correct. Jabba was funding Zan Arbor’s research. But what could Jabba possibly want with it? How did Palpatine factor into this?

“I know exactly who he is,” Zan Arbor said. “As you said, he’s the _former_ chancellor. On the run from the Republic, last I heard. Whose memory could he possibly want to erase? And why are we giving him _our_ serum? I thought Jabba was going to sell it on the black market.”

“He has.”

Ferus’s heart pounded. It was all coming together now. Zan Arbor had been working on a memory-erasing serum, Jabba picked her up to fund the project so he could sell it on the black market, and Palpatine had bought it. And he could only think of one use Palpatine could have for a memory-erasing serum.

If Ferus couldn’t stop the sale of the serum, Anakin was doomed.

“It’s in the refrigeration unit,” Zan Arbor said. “There’s not much, but it’s the only batch that’s been successful on test subjects so far. The amount you’re requesting will take all my supplies. I’ll have to prep it for transport.”

There was a long pause. Finally, Jabba’s man grumbled, “I see.”

“Now that you’ve guaranteed it’s there, can you leave me to my work? It’ll take a while for me to ready the serum to be moved.”

“Fine. Work quickly. That has to be on the transport in eight hours.”

“Science can’t be rushed,” Zan Arbor said, then added begrudgingly, “It should be ready by then.”

“It’d better.” The man and the Gamorrean guard left the room, and the large door hissed shut.

“Unbelievable,” Zan Arbor muttered.

Ferus had been crammed in the cabinet for hours, tossing plan after plan out. He couldn’t just destroy the serum, because Zan Arbor would just make more with the data she surely had on record. All Ferus would do then would be to delay the serum getting to Palpatine. He could try to destroy all her research as well, but he’d have to scour the entire base to make sure he got it all, and he’d be overwhelmed by guards and captured or killed before that happened. Never mind the fact that he needed to keep any meddling he did discreet so he could follow or travel with the serum to Palpatine and Anakin. And he couldn’t do anything with Zan Arbor in the same room as him, right outside his hiding place, preparing the serum for transport.

He had to tamper with the serum somehow so it wouldn’t work on Anakin if worst came to worst and the serum made its way to Palpatine and he used it on him. Then he had to make sure nobody could spot his tampering and find a way to sneak aboard the ship bound for Palpatine’s base. This would all be a whole lot easier if he knew the first thing about science. He could just as easily kill Anakin with his attempt to try and save him from the memory serum’s effects.

He would just have to trust in the Force and hope everything worked out.

Ferus closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. There was Jenna Zan Arbor, still working, bleeding frustration and annoyance. Outside the door was—ah, a Gamorrean guard. Perfect for Ferus’s purposes.

He lightly examined the guard. Bored but anxious, shifting his massive axe back and forth in his hands.

Ferus smiled. He grasped the axe with the Force and wiggled it back and forth.

The guard’s presence tinged with confusion and fear.

Ferus ripped the axe out of his hands and danced it in the air around the guard.

The guard erupted into squealing. He turned to run away down the hall, but Ferus danced the axe in front of him. He turned the other way, and Ferus spun it around to land in front of him.

Terror lurked on the edge of the guard’s mind. He squealed again and pounded on the door to the lab.

“What in the galaxy…” Zan Arbor left the lab, the large door closing behind her.

Ferus let the axe drop and bolted out of the cabinet.

Cramps gripped his legs. He collapsed to the floor.

He didn’t have time for this. He shuttled away his pain in the Force and climbed to his feet.

On the table in the middle of the room was an open datapad and ten vials of a dark green serum.

Ferus darted to the datapad. It was open to a document full of science gobbledy-gook.

He sighed. Of course.

Zan Arbor’s presence came closer to the door. He hurriedly picked up the axe with the Force and waved it in the air. He reached for his comm and activated it.

A tiny holographic version of his master appeared on his wrist, holding a mixing bowl in one hand and a whisk in the other. “This is Siri Kenobi, how can I help you?”

“Master! I need someone that understands science really well as fast as possible. Science of people,” Ferus said.

“How fast?” Master Siri asked.

“As fast as possible! It’s a matter of life or death! Anakin’s life or death!” Ferus danced the axe around Zan Arbor and the guard.

Siri turned. “Babe!”

A tiny Master Kenobi appeared next to Master Siri, a toothbrush in his mouth. “Wha’ is i’?”

“Take that comm to Vokara Che as fast as you possibly can. Don’t stop to talk!”

“Hurry!” Ferus urged.

Impatience grew in Zan Arbor’s mind. Ferus lifted Zan Arbor and the guard in the air about half a meter, then spun them around.

In the comm was half of Master Kenobi shaking around, foaming at the mouth. His form shook in the comm. He ran for too long in Ferus’s mind. Zan Arbor wasn’t stupid. She was bound to figure out only a Jedi could be messing with her like that.

Finally, Vokara Che appeared in the comm. “How can I help you, Knight Olin?”

“I need you to tell me how to sabotage this memory-erasing serum without making it deadly so Anakin won’t have his memory erased when Palpatine gives it to him,” he said.

“What?” Vokara Che said.

“Never mind that,” Ferus said. “I just need you to tell me how to make this formula ineffective without making it poisonous. Wrecking it should be easier than making it, right?”

“Theoretically,” she said. “All right, what’s the formula?”

Ferus read out the ingredients even though he didn’t know what any of them meant, spinning Zan Arbor and the Gamorrean in the back of his mind.

“Jedi!” Zan Arbor yelled. “There’s a Jedi in the building.”

“Shavit,” Ferus said. “I don’t have much time. Tell me how to ruin it, quickly!”

Vokara Che gave him directions. Ferus tried to follow them as quick as he could, but he had to stop and take a deep breath to still his shaking hands. More presences were gathering. He had to sneak out of this room and make it seem as if he hadn’t had the time to sabotage the serum before he confronted the guards, if he couldn’t avoid them.

“Will that be enough?” he asked.

“I hope so,” Vokara Che said. “I don’t know enough about this compound to be sure if it’ll work, but, in theory, it should.”

Ferus nodded. “Thanks. I’ll see you.” He deactivated the comm and shoved it in a pocket on his belt. The cultured padawan inside him was screaming at him for his rudeness, but those days were long gone. He pulled the hood of his cloak up and threw Zan Arbor and the guard several yards down the hall, then cloaked himself in a “Don’t notice me” attitude in the Force. It probably wouldn’t hold for long, but all he needed was a couple feet.

He opened the door a couple feet and slipped out, then silently ran down the craggy hall and around the corner, closing the door behind him.

Ideally, he would head for the ship now. But that would leave every possibility that they would figure out what he was doing and end up giving Anakin a non-altered version. And Ferus just couldn’t let that happen, not even to try and track down where Anakin was being kept.

He’d just have to hold on a little longer.

He spun around, activated his lightsaber, and charged around the corner. “You are under arrest, Jenna Zan Arbor, by the authority of the Galactic Republic!”

Zan Arbor sprang to her feet and ran. The guard charged him. One swing of the lightsaber and the guard was on the ground. Ferus ran after Zan Arbor.

She ducked into a side tunnel. A door slammed shut behind her. A flood of Jabba’s guards entered the hall.

At first, defeating them was easy, but then a group of guards ran up behind him, and no matter how many Ferus defeated, they just kept coming, boxing him into his position.

Sweat poured down his face. Exhaustion dragged down his muscles. His reaction times were getting slower and slower. He barely managed to jerk his lightsaber around to block another blaster bolt.

Hot pain stabbed through his back. A cry escaped his lips. He struggled to keep his lightsaber in his numb fingers.

Pain spread through his shoulder. His shoulder jerked. His lightsaber fell to the ground. His knees buckled, darkness closing into his vision.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ferus argues with Jabba. Rex investigates. Anakin suffers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive! None of my fics are abandoned, but with college and some health struggles, I haven't been able to work on these as much lately. Nevertheless, I will keep plugging away. It may be awhile between updates, but they will still keep coming! Just slowly.

A grating laugh broke into Ferus’s haze of pain. He slowly pulled himself out of unconsciousness.

He was lying face down on a grating. He tried to push himself up, but pain stabbed through his shoulder and metal dug into his wrists.

Booming Huttese filled the room. After staking out the palace for a couple weeks, Ferus had no problem figuring out where he was.

“I can’t understand you, Jabba,” he said. Currently, he couldn’t see the rancor Jabba liked to feed people to, but that didn’t mean anything. Bound, in pain, and surrounded by guards, his best bet was to make Jabba think he’d get more profit holding him for ransom than he would get enjoyment in killing him.

“His excellency says that he is shocked that the Jedi would dare to invade his domain. How can you explain this outrage?” a protocol droid said.

Ferus swallowed. Negotiating with a giant slug while face-down on the floor was not his favorite thing to do, but here he was. “I was tracking a wanted criminal. Tatooine is still nominally part of the Galactic Republic, so the Jedi do have jurisdiction here, Jabba.”

Jabba spoke again. The protocol droid translated. “The Mighty Jabba protests that statement vehemently. You will certainly pay for your crimes.”

“That would be a mistake, Jabba,” Ferus warned. “My master knows I was in Jenna Zan Arbor’s lab. She knows everything I know about my mission so far. She’ll know what happened to me. Her husband is Obi-Wan Kenobi, war hero, who’s close to the chancellor and to the senator of Naboo. When they find out you are responsible for the death of a Jedi knight pursuing a known criminal, the Republic will not tolerate it. Or would you like to explain your connection to Jenna Zan Arbor in the Galactic courts?”

There was a long pause. Pain swirled through Ferus. He struggled to stay awake.

Jabba grumbled in Huttese.

“The mighty Jabba was unaware you were a close friend of one of the Jedi instrumental in saving the life of his beloved son. He is sorry that some of his renegade guards injured you and hopes you will not hold the mistakes of people that used to work for him seriously. The mighty Jabba wishes to remind you that he had nothing to do with Jenna Zan Arbor, but that some of his underlings will be investigated for their role in this heinous act by the notorious criminal Jenna Zan Arbor. The mighty Jabba also wishes you success in rescuing Tatooine’s finest son, the Jedi who saved his son, Anakin Skywalker.”

A chill ran through Ferus’s blood. This slug claimed gratitude towards Anakin and was helping Sidious abuse him? He popped his stun cuffs with the Force and painfully climbed to his feet. Forget his life. He had to do something about this. He stumbled forward until he wasn’t standing on the grate. “If you truly care about Tatooine’s finest son, Anakin Skywalker, you will help find Palpatine and bring him to justice. If that horrible man is not stopped, Anakin Skywalker will be destroyed, and if my suspicions are right, you will be partially responsible because of your endorsement of Jenna Zan Arbor and her research. Do you know what her serum can make a man with that kind of power into? The actions of a Sith are death and destruction, anger and vengeance, murder and hatred. That’s what Palpatine will turn Anakin into if he gets his hands on that serum. And you think Anakin will look favorably on this planet, on you, if Palpatine succeeds in his mission? He won’t. His memories of this planet are of anguish and pain because of the misery he’s suffered under slavery. If Palpatine succeeds, Anakin will come for you. He will come for every one of you and you won’t be able to stop him, and you won’t be able to reason with him, because with that serum, Palpatine will have driven him insane. If you endorse that, if you encourage that, you are only inviting your own destruction.”

Ferus struggled to stay on his feet as Jabba rumbled his reply. He could pass out after he convinced Jabba to help Anakin.

“The mighty Jabba declares you have made a great point and has decided he will help you find Anakin Skywalker. Unfortunately, Jenna Zan Arbor and her memory-erasing serum have already left the system to head to Palpatine. The mighty Jabba is infuriated that Zan Arbor is trying to cut him out of rightfully-earned profits from the memory serum and help Palpatine destroy Tatooine and hopes the Jedi will be able to help him take vengeance.”

Ferus groaned aloud as he passed out.

Rex scanned his com for the hundredth time that day. Ever since the news of General Skywalker’s abduction had broken, his com had been blowing up with messages. Half of the 501st and a third of the 212th had made their way to Coruscant to ask him how to deploy to help find the general. Many of the rest were scouring the galaxy for any word of him.

He had received multiple false leads that he’d been able to identify immediately as false and some false leads he’d wound up sending Jedi to investigate. It was hard not to be discouraged by every negative report.

“Anything?” General Kenobi asked from the chair where he was sprawled in the comms center in the Jedi Temple they had taken over as a command center for the search for General Skywalker.

Rex shook his head. “Not yet.” He pulled up the next message.

Echo appeared in small holographic form, the Bad Batch hovering behind him. “Hey, Rex. We were on an extended mission for CorSec, but just got your message. On our way to Coruscant now. If there’s any way we can help the general or his family, just let us know. We’re here to help. See you soon.”

“Echo and the Bad Batch are on their way,” Rex said, though General Kenobi had likely already heard.

“I’ll put them on the list.” General Kenobi sat up and began typing. “At this rate, we’ll have the whole 501st and 212th looking for him.”

“I just hope it’s enough,” Rex said. When he’d taken the job as a Temple guard, it had been with the understanding that he’d be able to protect General Skywalker and the little ones and the other Jedi in their home. But that demagolka Palpatine and the bounty hunters he’d recruited had been able to slip by him and steal his general. Even though Skywalker technically wasn’t his general anymore and Rex wasn’t his captain, he still felt as if he’d utterly failed his commanding officer. More than that, he’d failed his brother. And he wouldn’t rest until he made up for it by getting his general back.

Rex turned to the Temple comm and activated the next message waiting.

The pirate Hondo Ohnaka appeared, a lizard on his shoulders. “Good evening, Jedi! Such a terrible thing I heard on the news a couple weeks ago. So sorry for your loss. However! I have the offer for a deal I believe might help you! I have no desire to have that dirty Sith running around the galaxy anymore. Bad for business. Unfortunately, I have no idea where that Skywalker is. But! I did find something you can use to help capture the former chancellor Palpatine. They’re called ysalamiri. I’ve got this little pet on my shoulders now. They repel the Force. Might come in handy against that dirty Sith, eh? Contact me at this number and we can work out the business details.” The hologram deactivated.

“General!” Rex straightened.

Kenobi leaned forward. “I heard, Rex. I’ll call him back. If this is true, it’ll do wonders for us.”

Anakin didn’t know it was possible to be this tired.

The endless cycle of torture, healing in bacta, and fighting Sith compulsions had ended none too soon. Anakin’s very soul was tired. Too tired to muster a defense against any more Sith compulsions, should Palpatine choose to attempt them again.

For some reason, he had been taken out of the bacta tank, but wasn’t back in his cell with the mask on. Instead, he was still in the dubiously-named medbay, which was dark like everything else in this horrid place, strapped down flat on a table, sporting only one arm and a lovely IV. Palpatine wasn’t in the room with him. He would have rejoiced at this wonderful opportunity if he had the strength to move. Even staying awake was an effort. But, even with his utter exhaustion, he could feel in the Force something was wrong. Besides the whole being-captured-and-tortured-by-a-Sith-Lord wrongness.

Anakin didn’t want to be defenseless when Palpatine tried his next trick.

The door to the medbay hissed open. Palpatine strolled in, cackling.

“Good evening, young Skywalker.”

“Hello,” Anakin allowed, squinting suspiciously. Someone was walking in behind him, someone he knew. Was that… “Jenna Zan Arbor?”

“Skywalker.” Zan Arbor placed a case on a table near his head and opened it. “You’re looking better than ever.”

Anakin swallowed down the fear rising in him. If she was here, whatever Palpatine’s next move was couldn’t be good. “Same to you. I’ve missed seeing your ugly face around.”

Zan Arbor snorted. She removed a syringe from the case and shot a bit of the substance in it into the air. “Well, lucky for you, you won’t remember seeing my hideous face anywhere very soon.” She turned to Palpatine. “Which memories do you want gone?”

No. _No._ Anakin tried to tug at his restraints, but all he managed to do was lift his head. “Don’t you dare. Leave my memories alone. Leave them be!”

“Every memory of our time spent together here,” Palpatine said. “Take away every memory of his friends, his _family_.” He almost spat the word. “No—wait. Let him remember his mother. But not that she was bought from slavery. And let him remember her death.”

Anakin prepared himself to shout again, but his breath left him in a huff. He needed to save his strength. Padmé, Luke, Leia, Ben, Shmi, Jinn, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Owen and Beru, the Jedi… He was going to lose them all. He had to gather his strength. Maybe, somehow, he could resist them. Hold onto at least some of his memories as they tried to strip them away.

“Take away his memories of everyone and everything else except for me. But erase his memories of me after the _Invisible Hand._ ”

“All right, got it.” Jenna Zan Arbor disappeared beyond his field of vision. Two slim, feminine hands pulled a breath mask over his nose and mouth. “Sweet dreams, Skywalker.”

No. He wouldn’t be awake to hold onto his memories. He was going to lose everything, and he wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. “No, don’t, please, don’t do this, let me have my memories, don’t take them away, please… Palpatine… don’t… do it… please…” Anakin’s eyelids drooped and fell, everything fading away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Anakin wakes up very confused.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin wakes up.

He woke up slowly.

He didn’t know anything at first. All there was was darkness, oppressing him everywhere. Somehow, he knew the darkness wasn’t what he wanted. He pushed it away and found the light. It had always been there, waiting for him. He was sure of it, though he wasn’t quite sure why.

His brain was jumbled, names and details and confused thoughts he couldn’t quite grasp swirling around in his mind. Speaking might have helped him sort out what was going on, but his body was too heavy, and the words would have come out garbled.

The darkness told him someone was waiting for him to wake up, but he’d rather sort out his mixed-up thoughts. _Who am I?_

 _Anakin_ , the light whispered. _Your name is Anakin. You are a person. A Jedi. My child._

A Jedi.

What was a Jedi?

He captured a name swirling around in his brain. Padmé. What was a Padmé?

He presented the name to the light. _Padmé?_

_Love. Love can ignite the stars._

Love.

Padmé was love?

_Home._

Home. So Padmé was love and home.

_Sitting in a meadow, laughing, praising a dictatorship just to mess with the democratic-loving senator. Running through a columned hall to envelop a beautiful woman in his arms._

He grabbed for another name.

Daddy. Who was Daddy?

He was Daddy.

_“Daddy, I wanna be a Jedi, just like you.”_

Luke. That was Luke.

The darkness prodded at him. He retreated into the light, but the light gently pushed him out.

_Wake up, child._

Anakin sighed and dragged his eyes open. He was dressed in white medical clothing, sitting in a comfortable bed in a room with black walls. His right arm ended at the elbow, the stump bandaged. An old man in dark robes was sitting at his bedside. The man’s face looked like it was melting off.

Palpatine. This was Palpatine.

_Pain, cackling laughter, blue lightning shooting out of fingers. “Release your anger! Strike me down!”_

Danger. This man was dangerous. He was the source of the darkness.

“You’re ugly.”

“Looks matter not, my apprentice,” Palpatine said. “It is the power we wield that gives us our strength.”

“Power?” Anakin didn’t remember having any power. Granted, he didn’t remember much at the moment. And apprentice. Did that mean Palpatine was teaching him to be a Jedi, whatever that was? “I don’t feel very strong at the moment.”

“All in good time, my apprentice,” Palpatine chuckled. “All in good time. Tell me, what do you remember?”

“Huh?” He frowned at himself. How much did he want Palpatine to know he remembered? “What’s a Jedi?”

Palpatine’s face soured. “The _Jedi_ ,” he spat the word out like a curse, “are a disease upon the galaxy. They are responsible for the death of your mother.”

_Cradling Mom in his arms as her hand slipped from his cheek… Trembling as he tried to comprehend what had just happened… Cutting down figure after figure after sandy figure…_

“No,” he said, oddly certain. “No, that was the Tusken Raiders. The Tusken Raiders killed my mother. And I killed them.”

Palpatine trembled. “It was the Jedi that didn’t allow you to save her. It was their fault you didn’t rescue her in time. They are the ones who have brought war and misery to the galaxy. They are the reason we are in hiding. If the Jedi ever found you and me, they would kill us.”

But Anakin was a Jedi. The light had said so. Luke wanted to be a Jedi, too. Anakin had been evil? His son was evil? “I don’t understand.”

“All will become clear in time,” Palpatine promised.

A name that had been floating around in his mind rose to the forefront. “Who’s Obi-Wan Kenobi?”

Palpatine’s face split into a slow grin. The darkness reached out for his mind. “Let me teach you about Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

_Lava flowed down the dark rocks. Obi-Wan clutched his lightsaber, gazing with a heavy heart at the young man in front of him. Anakin’s hair blew in the hot wind, his yellow eyes piercing his soul._

_“Anakin, Palpatine is evil!” Obi-Wan shouted desperately. If only Anakin would listen. He couldn’t cut down his own brother._

_“The Jedi are evil!” Anakin shouted back. He raised his lightsaber, its red blade illuminating his face._

_“Palpatine has twisted your mind!” Obi-Wan reluctantly ignited his own lightsaber. “Anakin, you have a family on Coruscant. We love you! You can still come home!”_

_Anakin shook his head quickly, pressing a hand to his eyes. “That’s…that’s not what Palpatine told me.” He glanced up, rage twisting his face. “Liar! You’re here to kill me!”_

_“I’m here to rescue you, Anakin.” Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it onto his belt. “I won’t fight you. If you choose to cut me down, then I won’t resist. You’re my brother, Anakin. I will gladly die for you.”_

_Anakin shouted wordlessly and swung his lightsaber at Obi-Wan…_

A shout tore from Obi-Wan’s lips as he woke up. He sat up slowly, trembling overtaking his muscles. He threaded a shaking hand through his sweaty hair. He tried to take a deep breath but couldn’t. It had been a long time since he’d had visions, and rarely had any of his visions affected him this deeply.

Anakin. Oh, Anakin. He drew his knees up to his chest and sank into the Force. What did all this mean?

Mustafar. Anakin was on Mustafar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know. I promise, the next one is longer.
> 
> Next up, the rescue mission gets underway!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets ready for the rescue mission. Including someone who shouldn't be coming.

Luke sighed and slumped down on his desk. They had a padawan filling in in Galactic History again because Uncle Obi-Wan was going to rescue Daddy. Mommy had said Luke wasn’t allowed to come. He scuffed his boots against the floor. What if Daddy needed him? He’d called out to him and no one else through the Force, and Luke had answered him. And he had a feeling Daddy would need him. He was a Jedi, he was training to help people!

He turned his head. Leia was sitting beside him, poking at her desk, waiting for the padawan to start class. He couldn’t even ask her what to do, like he would normally do. She’d either tattle, or, more likely, want to come with him. And that would be dangerous.

Luke turned to his other side and poked his friend Ezra Bridger. “Psst.”

Ezra leaned towards him. “What?”

“They’re leaving today to go rescue my daddy. I think they’ll need me, but my mommy said I couldn’t go!” Luke whispered.

“Well, does the Force say you should go?” Ezra asked.

“I think so,” Luke said. “Daddy reached out to _me_ in the Force. What if he needs me again? I’ve got a feeling he will.”

“Then you’ve just got to go! Master Yoda says to always listen to the Force,” Ezra said. “Besides, what would Master Skywalker do?”

“He’d go,” Luke said confidently. He’d heard the tales from Auntsoka and Uncle Rex. He knew Daddy would go if he were him. “I’ve gotta leave now or I’ll miss the ship.”

“Here, I’ll help you escape,” Ezra said. He turned in his seat and swung his fist into Luke’s nose, then popped his hand in the air. “Padawan Katooni, can I take Luke to the healers? His nose is bleeding.”

Luke clapped his hand over his throbbing nose. He nodded enthusiastically. “It just started bleeding out of the blue!”

A couple of younglings behind him snickered.

“No, I can take him!” Leia protested.

Luke glared at Leia. “No, you can’t,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Yes, Initiate Bridger, you may escort Initiate Skywalker to the healers, then return to class,” Padawan Katooni said.

“Okay!” Ezra slid out of his chair.

Luke followed him out of the room. Leia tried to follow him.

“Leia, you need to stay here,” Padawan Katooni said.

“But…”

Luke slipped out the door. He sniffed and wiped blood away from his nose, then wiped his hand on his shirt.

“Which way to the hangar?” Ezra asked.

“This way!” Luke bolted through the hallways, Ezra hot on his heels.

At least three Jedi tried to stop them and find out which class they were supposed to be in, but every time, Ezra just shouted, “Got to get to the healers, bye!” and they ran off. Finally, they made it to the hangar.

“Which one is your ship?” Ezra asked.

Luke closed his eyes and reached out for Auntsoka. “That one.” He pointed to a small shuttle in the middle of the hangar. They must be taking it up to whatever big ship they were taking.

“Is there anyone in it?” Ezra asked.

Luke nodded. “My aunt is. Ahsoka Tano.”

“Need me to distract her?” Ezra asked.

Luke nodded again. He pulled his Force signature in tight, as close to him as he could, the same as he did when playing hide-and-seek with Daddy.

Ezra ran up to the ship. “Knight Tano? I got lost and I can’t find the rest of my class. Can you help me get back to, uh…Galactic History?”

“Sure!” Auntsoka emerged from the ship. “Are you in Master Kenobi’s class?”

Ezra nodded. “My friend Luke, his nose just started bleeding out of nowhere. I think a ghost punched him. He’s over here.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her the opposite way from where Luke was hiding behind a ship.

“Luke! Luke Skywalker?” Auntsoka walked away with Ezra.

Luke bolted onto the ship. He glanced around for somewhere to hide.

Daddy would sometimes open engine compartments and work on the engines during flight, so that meant touching the engines during flight had to be safe.

He popped open the engine compartment and jumped down inside. He concentrated as hard as he could on the Force and closed the door behind him.

“No, Padmé. You’re pregnant. And even if you weren’t, it would still probably be a terrible idea for you to come,” Obi-Wan said. Honestly, he didn’t know what else he was expecting, but he would keep Padmé on Coruscant if it killed him.

“We’ll rescue him for you, Mrs. Skywalker,” Rex said.

“But…he’s my husband!” Padmé protested.

“And what if you get killed on this mission? What if both you and Anakin die? What happens to your children? Don’t willingly put yourself in a position where your children could easily be orphaned,” Obi-Wan said.

“What if I come on the Republic cruiser with you and don’t go down to the surface? Then I could meet Anakin as soon as you rescue him, but I wouldn’t be putting the baby in danger.” Padmé crossed her arms over her white bodysuit. Obi-Wan got the feeling this was the best he was going to get out of her.

“I suppose so,” Obi-Wan said. “We’re leaving immediately, so you’ll need to make arrangements for the children right away.”

“I already have,” Padmé said. “They’ll be staying with Lux.”

“Come on, let’s go!” Ahsoka called from the shuttle they would be taking up to the cruiser. Most of the 501st and 212th were already on the _Resolute_ , along with Admiral Yularen, who had volunteered to come along. Ferus Olin, Tru Veld, Ahsoka Tano, Mace, his former padawan Depa, and her padawan Caleb were all waiting on the shuttle to leave.

“Affirmative. Let’s hurry up,” Rex said. “The sooner we get to Mustafar, the sooner we can save the general.”

Obi-Wan nodded. He got on the shuttle. Padmé and Rex followed him onto the ship and the ramp closed behind him.

Obi-Wan curled his hands into fists. “We’re coming, Anakin,” he whispered.

Obi-Wan knew the lizards would help them capture Palpatine, but being around them was unsettling.

Rex, Jesse, and Appo donned backpacks containing the ysalamiri.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Rex asked.

Obi-Wan nodded. “I can feel the effects already. It’ll work.”

Padmé holstered a blaster.

Obi-Wan glared at her. “Senator…”

“Just in case,” Padmé said. “I promise, I’m staying here.”

“As long as you give your word,” Obi-Wan said.

Padmé sighed. “I give my word I’m staying here.”

Obi-Wan nodded, satisfied.

Mace sighed. “Our primary objective is to rescue Skywalker, but Depa and I are going after Palpatine. Those of you who are going with us, our objective is to capture or kill. If we can get close enough to him with these lizards, he may not be able to put up much of a fight. However, we cannot assume he will be out of the fight as soon as he’s in a Force bubble. Do you understand me?”

The clones gathered in the hangar nodded. “Yes, General,” they chorused.

“All those who don’t have ysalamiri backpacks will be providing air support,” Obi-Wan said. “Depa and Mace are going after Palpatine with Echo, the Bad Batch, and the squad they were assigned.”

Echo saluted with his modified arm.

“Ahsoka, Ferus, Tru, and I, along with the rest of you coming down to the surface, will be splitting up to look for Anakin. As a reminder, he may be confused and disoriented, he’ll probably be injured, and he may be lacking some of his memory. Caleb, you’ll be guarding the ships from any attacks to make sure our escape route stays available.” Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan thought he saw a small form dart onto one of the gunships they’d be taking to the surface of Mustafar, but he couldn’t be sure.

He shook his head. It was probably nothing. “May the Force be with us all.”


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue begins.

They were fired on as they flew to the surface, but they managed to land at the facility Admiral Yularen had identified as the most likely prison on one of the landing platforms. Obi-Wan tried to squash the nervous sickness in his stomach. Darkness lay heavily on the building. He couldn’t sense Anakin anywhere. That had to just be the influence of Palpatine.

“Make sure this ship stays safe, Caleb,” Depa said. “Even if you hear us calling for backup on the comms, that doesn’t mean you. You have to guard the ship. We may need a quick getaway.”

Caleb nodded. “Yes, master.”

Depa smiled and put a hand on his cheek. “Stay safe, little one.”

Caleb blushed. “Master, I’m not little anymore.”

Mace chuckled. “You’ll always be little to her. You might as well get used to it now.” He drew his lightsaber. “Come on, men, let’s go.” He left the ship.

“Oh, yeah!” Wrecker called. “Palpatine, here we come!”

“Wrecker!” Sergeant Hunter snapped.

“What?”

Beside Obi-Wan, Ahsoka managed a faint smile.

Obi-Wan patted her on the shoulder and raised his voice. “Let’s go find Anakin.”

The clones cheered. Obi-Wan led everyone except Caleb out onto the landing platform.

Time to find his brother.

Luke peeked his head out of his hiding spot in the back among the speeder bikes. Empty. Good. Time for him to find his daddy.

He darted out into the open part of the ship and froze.

The padawan, Caleb Dume, was standing right outside the ship staring at him.

Luke gave a small wave. “Hi, I’m Luke.”

“What the…how in the…who are you and what are you doing here?” Caleb demanded.

“I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to help save my daddy,” Luke said. Shouldn’t it be obvious why he was here?

Caleb stared at him with his mouth open. Finally, he said, “How old are you?”

“Seven.” Luke showed his hands with seven fingers up.

“Do you realize how irresponsible it is for you to be here? What if you get killed?” Caleb spread his hands.

“What if my daddy gets killed?” Luke asked.

“And you think you can help him? You’re seven!”

Was he just going to stand there yelling at him instead of letting him go save Daddy? Think, think! What would Mommy do?

Luke reached out with the Force to feel the darkness outside and burst into tears. “My daddy’s gonna die!” he wailed. He scrubbed at his face with his hands.

“Uh…don’t…don’t cry. I’m sure Master Skywalker won’t die.” Caleb shuffled forward and wrapped his arms around Luke. He awkwardly patted his back. “There, there.”

Luke grinned. He felt around Caleb’s belt and snatched his lightsaber, then bolted away. “Thanks!” he called back. “Better stay with the ship!”

“Why, you…Come back here!” Caleb shouted.

Luke waved and disappeared into the dark, scary building.

Obi-Wan slowly made his way down the dark corridor. He and Ahsoka had run into a few battle droids, but no Anakin and no Palpatine. He peeked around a corner.

A heavy blast door guarded by battle droids was at the end of the hall and the junction of another.

“That looks promising,” Ahsoka remarked quietly.

Obi-Wan nodded. He stepped out from behind the wall. “Hello there.”

“It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi!” one of the battle droids said.

“Oh, no.”

Obi-Wan ran forward and slashed the droids to pieces. Ahsoka plunged her lightsabers into the door and carved a circle out. She kicked it through and jumped in.

“Master!” she exclaimed.

Obi-Wan climbed through the hole and grinned. Anakin was sitting on a medical bed, hair all mussed. He only had one arm and was pale and sickly, but he was sitting up and looked relatively healthy. He was, however, holding his lightsaber in his left hand. The fact that Palpatine had trusted him with his lightsaber wasn’t a good sign.

“Who are you?” Anakin asked.

“I’m Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Obi-Wan stretched out his hand. “I’m here to rescue you.”

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin’s face transformed into a mask of rage. He leapt forward, igniting his lightsaber, and swung the blade at Obi-Wan.

Padmé paced back and forth in the cruiser hangar. Half of her wanted to steal a ship and fly down to Mustafar’s surface herself. The other half, maybe the more sensible half, kept replaying Obi-Wan’s words.

_“And what if you get killed on this mission? What if both you and Anakin die? What happens to your children? Don’t willingly put yourself in a position where your children could easily be orphaned.”_

She placed a hand over her stomach, over her unborn baby. “Oh, how did we get into this mess?”

Her comm beeped. She pulled it out and answered. “This is Senator Amidala speaking. How may I help you?”

A frantic-looking Lux appeared on the comm. “Have you seen your son anywhere?”

“What?” Padmé burst out. She pressed her hand to her heart. “Which son? What’s happened?”

“Luke! We can’t find him anywhere. Apparently, Leia started screaming in class because her bond with her brother got strained, and we’ve been combing the Temple, and we can’t find him anywhere! The last he was seen, a boy named Ezra was taking him to the healers for a bloody nose. That was hours ago, and no one’s seen him since. Do you have any idea where he might be?” Lux asked.

“No!” Padmé cried. “Oh, no.” What had she just been thinking of doing? Which parent was Luke more like in temperament? Hadn’t he just last year wound up kidnapped and a slave on Tatooine because he’d tried to stop slavers he ran into all by himself? If it hadn’t been for Watto, he’d have been lost for good. And no amount of lectures had been able to convince Luke he’d done the wrong thing. “I know exactly where he is.”

The monster actually looked stunned that Anakin was attacking him. He stumbled back a few steps before blocking his strike.

“Anakin, what’s wrong?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Master, stop it!” the other one cried.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Anakin roared. “You’re a murderer! A monster! You dare to ask what’s wrong?” He slashed down, powerful strikes driving Obi-Wan back. He kept trying to back up his strikes with his non-existent right hand. It was throwing him off. He had once had a right hand, hadn’t he?

“Murderer? Anakin, what are you talking about?” Obi-Wan backed up against the wall. He ducked under Anakin’s swing and jumped through the hole the girl had made into the hall.

He wasn’t getting away that easily. Anakin dove through the hole and rolled onto his feet. “Don’t pretend you don’t know, you Jedi scum. You couldn’t let me be happy, could you? You couldn’t let me have a family. You had to ruin it!”

“Master, we are your family!” That girl had climbed through the hole and was pointing her lightsabers at him. “We love you! We want you to be happy!”

“Stay out of this, child!” Anakin snarled.

“Child!” the girl repeated.

“Anakin, all I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy,” the monster protested.

“Liar!” Anakin shouted. How could he stand there and dare to act so baffled? He wasn’t even trying to defeat him. “Fight me, you monster! How could you dare to kill a seven-year-old?”

“What?” Obi-Wan exclaimed. “Who?”

“He was my son!” Tears filled Anakin’s eyes, but he didn’t let that stop him from attacking the monster. “Luke was my baby, and you murdered him!”

“What?” Obi-Wan said again. “I would never murder Luke!”

“Anakin, Luke’s not dead,” the girl said.

Anakin ignored her. Of course she was trying to sway him from wreaking his vengeance on her companion. Lies, all lies. “How could you?” he demanded.

“Daddy?” a small voice said.

Anakin froze. Coldness spread through his limbs, melting the heat that was driving him. A small child with golden hair stood in the hall brandishing a blue lightsaber.

Anakin’s lightsaber slipped from his fingers. “Luke?”


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin gets a lecture from his seven-year-old.

“Daddy!” Luke sheathed Caleb’s lightsaber and ran forward. “Why are you attacking Uncle Obi-Wan?” He put the lightsaber on his belt and put his hands on his hips.

Daddy collapsed to his knees and opened his arms. “Luke.” His voice was broken, like he was about to cry.

Luke bolted forward and wrapped his arms around his daddy. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, baby.” Daddy pressed a shaking hand to his hair.

Luke kissed him on the cheek, then drew back so he could frown at him. “Why were you trying to hurt Uncle Obi?”

Daddy was crying. Daddy! Crying! “I…I’m sorry. I thought he’d killed you.”

Luke crossed his arms. “Did Palpacream tell you that?”

“Palpatine,” Daddy corrected.

“That’s what I said!” Luke cried. Why did Daddy have to pick on his words? “Palpacream’s a bad guy. He lies all the time! He’s s’posed to be in jail!”

Daddy shook his head. “I know he’s dangerous, but…”

“He’s a bad guy!” Luke yelled. “He’s a Sith Lord, and he likes murdering people! He uses the bad side of the Force!”

“The Force,” Daddy repeated. “The Force! That’s the light that speaks to me.”

Luke cocked his head. “Duh. Palpacream tried to kill Mommy. More than once.”

“Padmé?” Daddy asked.

“No, _Mommy_ ,” Luke said. Mommy, who Daddy usually called angel. Who was Padmé?

“Luke, your mommy is Padmé,” Uncle Obi-Wan said.

“Nuh-uh!” Luke protested. “Her name is Mommy! She’s called senator and angel, but her name is Mommy!”

Daddy smiled. “I think her name is Padmé.”

Luke glared at him. “Did Palpacream tell you that?”

Auntsoka snorted.

Luke stuck his tongue out at her and turned back to his daddy. “Will you stop attacking Uncle Obi-Wan and come home?”

Daddy paused, then nodded. He wrapped his arm-and-a-half around him and scooped him up, then stood.

Luke wrapped his arms around his daddy’s neck and smiled. “See? I told you he needed me.”

Daddy kissed him on the cheek. “Yes, I did. You were right, Luke.”

A gnarled man dashed around the corner of the hall. He blasted blue lightning at Auntsoka and sent her crashing against the wall.

Luke screamed. Daddy dropped him on the floor and spun around, pushing him behind him with the Force.

The bad man brandished a red lightsaber and brought it forward. The tip poked out through Daddy’s back.

Luke screamed again. He darted forward and stomped hard on the man’s foot. That had to be Palpacream. “Stay away from my daddy!” He swung his fists into the bad man’s body.

His throat tightened. His feet lifted off the floor.

“Let him go, Palpatine!” Uncle Obi-Wan shouted.

Uncle Rex ran around the corner, Uncle Mace and Caleb’s master right behind him. Uncle Rex raised his blaster and shot a blue stun bolt at Palpacream’s head.

Palpacream collapsed onto the floor. Luke fell hard. He gave the bad man one last punch and burst into tears.

If that padawan—Caleb, Padmé thought—hadn’t called her, she definitely would have flown down to the surface. She almost did anyway. Her baby, down on that awful planet, with a full-powered lightsaber? She was about to get in a fighter when Rex hopped on the comm to say Anakin had been found and was badly injured. Luke was crying in Rex’s arms.

So now she was waiting in the hangar next to the med team for them to show up.

A gunship entered the outer hangar, then flew through the shield to land. As soon as the doors opened, Luke flew out and crashed into her legs. “Mommy!”

She placed her hands on his head. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” If Anakin wasn’t injured right now, Luke would be in so much trouble, but right now, all she could bring herself to do was comfort him.

Kix pushed the float bed forward. Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Mace, Ferus, and Rex lifted Anakin up and onto the stretcher. Padmé took Luke’s hand and hurried along next to the float bed as they rushed Anakin to medbay.

“Is Daddy gonna die?” Luke asked when they were shut out of the surgery room.

Padmé shushed him. “Of course not.” She sat down and pulled him onto her lap.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka collapsed beside her. The rest of the strike team gathered in the room, except Mace and Depa.

Padmé squeezed her son. “What were you thinking?”

“Daddy needed me,” Luke said in a tiny voice. “He said so. I’m sorry I disobeyed, Mommy.”

Padmé let out an aggravated sigh. “We’ll talk about this when your father wakes up.” She didn’t have the emotional capacity to properly discipline her son right now. She turned to Obi-Wan. “What happened to Palpatine?”

“I shot him,” Rex said.

“He’s being taken to the brig as we speak,” Obi-Wan said. “With the ysalamiri, he won’t be able to escape again.”

Luke sniffed and wiped a tear away. “He hurt Daddy bad.”

Padmé kissed the top of his head. “I know, baby. He’ll be all right.” He had to be all right. They couldn’t have come this far to lose him now.

She sighed and settled in for the long wait.

Anakin woke slowly. The first thing he was aware of was an awful pain in his chest. It took effort just to keep breathing. He lay for a while drifting in between waking and sleeping, too afraid to wake up. Slowly, the Force came to him. At first, all he had was his fragmented memory. But, safe and cradled in the light, the Force pressed his memories upon him faster and faster until he was practically gasping.

He’d tried to kill Obi-Wan? He’d been convinced he’d murdered Luke, who had been one of the only people he had remembered.

Was he remembering correctly, or had Luke talked him down from killing Obi-Wan? How had Luke even gotten there?

That had to be a dream. Another hallucination from the Sith torture mask to taunt him with what could be.

But he could feel the Force, the light side of the Force. This couldn’t be a dream. And all his hallucinations before had been awful.

Then again, it had ended with him being stabbed by Palpatine.

He dragged himself out of his lethargy and forced himself awake. If this had all been a dream, he’d be back in his cell with Palpatine looming over him, waiting to taunt him.

He was in a peaceful, well-lit room in the Temple healing wing.

“Ani?” Padmé asked.

“Angel?” Anakin’s voice was hoarse and scratchy from disuse. Padmé was leaning over him, her hair all mussed, circles under her eyes, a blanket wrapped around her. “You’re beautiful.”

Padmé smiled, then laughed, placing a hand over her mouth. “You’re awake. You’re back!” Tears glistened in her eyes.

Anakin grinned. “No, I’m a ghost come back to haunt you.”

She flung herself on him and peppered kisses on him. Anakin raised a shaking hand to brush her cheek.

“Am I dreaming?” he asked.

She shook her head. Tears dripped onto his cheeks. “You’re not dreaming. You’re really here.”

“Daddy!” Luke called out.

Padmé drew back.

Luke climbed onto the bed. He smiled from ear to ear. “You’re all right!”

Anakin nodded. “Come here, you.”

Luke dove down and snuggled next to him. Anakin wrapped his arm around him and smiled down at his son.

That memory hit him again. He frowned down at him. “Am I misremembering things or did you come on the rescue mission and save me?”

Luke shifted uneasily. “You’re not. The Force told me to come, so I had to listen. I saved you. Mommy said I couldn’t go.”

“You did save me. I would’ve been lost without you,” Anakin said. “Thank you.”

“Am I in trouble?” Luke asked.

“Uh…” Anakin’s mind went blank. Trouble? Luke had saved him. But he was seven and had tagged along on a rescue mission he probably wasn’t supposed to be on. But he’d saved him! “Padmé?”

Padmé put her hands on her hips. “Luke, you told me you didn’t say anything to Leia because she would have come with you and that would have been dangerous.”

“The Force didn’t tell her to come!” Luke exclaimed.

Anakin thought he caught where she was going with this. “But you’re the same age as Leia, aren’t you, Luke?”

“I’m three minutes older!” Luke protested.

“Luke,” Anakin said.

“Fine, I guess.” Luke buried his face in Anakin’s side.

“You were scared for Leia to come along because she’s too young to go on missions. So do you understand why we were scared and didn’t want you to come on the mission to save me?” Anakin asked.

Luke sighed. “I guess so.” The words were muffled.

“You saved me this time, but next time…”

“If you _ever_ do that again, you’ll be grounded from now until your wedding day,” Padmé finished.

“Yes, ma’am,” Luke said meekly.

Anakin ruffled his hair. “Thank you for saving me, big guy.”

Luke beamed up at him. “You’re welcome, Daddy.”

“You think you can handle seeing the rest of the kids right now?” Padmé asked.

Anakin yawned. He lifted his other hand to run it through his hair.

Wait.

A Sith hound had bitten off his other hand. Yet here it was, and not even a robotic hand, either. This one was flesh and blood.

This was a dream.

“Padmé? What happened to my hand?”

Padmé blinked. “That’s the latest model in prosthetic hands. The synthskin is supposedly just as sensitive and realistic as real skin.”

Anakin stared at it. He wiggled his fingers. Now that she said it, he could feel that it was prosthetic, but barely. Just barely.

“Do you like it?” Luke piped up.

Anakin grinned. “I love it.” No more single gloves for him. He had a hand again! “I want to see the rest of the kids.”

Padmé stuck her head out of the door. “Obi-Wan!”

Leia and Ben rushed in. Obi-Wan followed with Shmi by the hand and Jinn in his arms.

“Daddy!” Leia jumped on the end of the bed.

Ben ran to the other side of the bed and grabbed his free hand.

Leia bounced on the bed. “Daddy, you’re home! Daddy, you’re home!”

Pain shot through Anakin’s chest. “Stop,” he said, his voice strangled.

Leia froze mid-bounce. “Sorry.”

“’S all right, sweetheart. Come here.”

Leia snuggled up to his free side and gazed up at him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Anakin grinned at Obi-Wan. “You’re one of the kids?”

Obi-Wan smiled, but didn’t deny it. “Good to see you back to normal.”

Anakin blinked. His smile softened. “Yeah.”

Ahsoka poked her head in the doorway. “Remember me yet?”

“You’re the girl I gave away at her wedding a year ago, right?” Anakin asked.

Ahsoka crossed her arms. “Woman.”

Anakin smiled. “I love you, Snips.”

Ahsoka sighed. “Love you too, Skyguy.”

Anakin closed his eyes and basked in the light of the room. Full recovery, both physical and mental, would take a while, and both might take therapists, but for now, he was just glad to be home.

“Ani?” Padmé said.

“What is it, honey?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Anakin’s eyes popped open. “What?”

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...  
> Originally, this was going to be way more angsty. Anakin was going to be captured for months, past when Padme gave birth. He was going to lose most of his grip on reality, and the only thing that was going to save him would have been Luke bringing his new baby girl to him. Anakin would have realized everything was real because he never had another kid in his hallucinations. I couldn't bear to drag this out and leave him in Palpatine's hands that long, so I had him get rescued sooner. Luke still saved him, though. Now, Anakin can attend the birth of his new daughter in peace.  
> This may be the end of this particular fic, but it is far from the end of the fics in this universe. Stay tuned for more fics coming relatively soon!

**Author's Note:**

> The person calling out for Anakin to wake up was the Force warning him of danger. He should have woken up earlier in the attack, but he was very tired, so the Force had to shout at him.
> 
> I didn't know how many murders to charge Palpatine with, and I feel like whatever number I give will be too small, so I just keyboard smashed.
> 
> Brace yourself, this is going to get dark. Next, prepare for some Obi-Wan angst!


End file.
